UK banks' lack of Mythos access a wake-up call, government AI adviser says

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - UK banks' inability to access Anthropic's powerful AI model Mythos underscores the urgent need for Britain to build its own AI capabilities and adopt a more strategic approach to the technology, a government-appointed banking industry adviser said.

Harriet Rees, chief information officer at Starling Bank, who was appointed “AI champion” by the finance ministry in January, said Britain needed to build AI infrastructure and models, and develop skills so “we are not fully reliant on U.S. tech providers.”

"Now is the time for us to think very strategically about what we need to do to protect our leading position moving forward. Time really is of the essence, we don’t have two years here,” Rees said in an interview with Reuters.

U.S.-based Anthropic released Mythos in April to a select group that included U.S. lender JPMorgan JPM.N.