US just showed it can cut off the world’s top AI with a flick of the switch

At a G7 lunch with AI CEOs and President Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron laid out the fear now keeping leaders up at night. If the US can block access to models like Anthropic’s Mythos 5 and Fable 5 overnight, entire economies built on American AI could freeze. That’s not hypothetical. Days earlier, the White House did exactly that, citing national security after Amazon flagged a possible safety gap.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoed the alarm. His argument is that democratic nations need steady access to the best AI to protect their own infrastructure. The worry is simple: any company or country relying on US tech could lose it without warning or explanation.

The move has exposed a raw nerve. Cybersecurity experts point out that the same capabilities exist in other available models, and yet Anthropic’s remain locked. Meanwhile, firms like Canada’s Cohere are using the moment to push for digital sovereignty, arguing that dependence on a handful of US companies is a risk no nation should take.

Macron and other leaders floated a “trusted partners” scheme at the G7, a way for non-US nations to access top models without the threat of sudden cutoffs. The idea is to create a network that bypasses US restrictions, but it’s unclear how broad or reliable this access would be. The bigger question remains: why would anyone buy into American AI if the plug can be pulled at any moment.

Europe and others have been pushing for AI sovereignty, but the latest US action makes that harder to argue. American models are still leading, and no one wants to be left behind.

This matters because it’s not just about business. If your country’s hospitals, power grids, or banks depend on AI that can vanish overnight, stability is at risk. The concern is real, and the debate over control versus access is only going to get louder.

Next, watch for how the trusted partners plan takes shape and whether the US eases or tightens its grip. The next model block or the next global AI deal will signal which way the wind is blowing.

Can a country truly be sovereign if it relies on another nation’s technology. And should the US have the power to turn off the world’s AI.

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Filed under: AI, DigitalSovereignty, G7, Anthropic, TechPolicy