The Government Pulled Anthropic's Two Best Models, and Microsoft Shipped a Copilot That Does the Whole Job
Fable 5 went dark three days after launch, Copilot Cowork now finishes the task instead of drafting it, and Grok learned to make video. Here is what is worth your Wednesday.
What matters today
Fable 5 went dark three days after launch, Copilot Cowork now finishes the task instead of drafting it, and Grok learned to make video. Here is what is worth your Wednesday.
Welcome byte
The strangest AI story of the year happened on Friday. Three days after Anthropic put Fable 5 in your plan, the US government ordered it pulled, and Anthropic disabled both Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for everyone. Opus 4.8 still works, so last week's long-document jobs are not lost, and the Pro Tip below is the Opus 4.8 prompt that compares two contracts and shows exactly where they conflict, in about 15 minutes. Microsoft crossed a line worth noticing too: Copilot Cowork is now generally available, and it does not draft, it finishes a whole multi-step task and hands back the completed work. The Productivity Gem turns a single product photo into a short video clip with Grok Imagine, no freelancer required. Below those: a heart-rate read for you and a game-building project for the kids.
Quick Hits
OpenAI retired GPT-5.2 from ChatGPT. As of June 12, GPT-5.2 Instant, Thinking, and Pro are gone, and GPT-5.5 is the default for everyone. If you pinned a model or saved a preference, re-pin it and re-test your two most-used prompts once.
Claude usage changed under the hood. On June 15, Anthropic moved subscription Claude usage to a separate monthly credit pool and retired two original Claude 4 API models.
Gemini in Chrome is coming to Android. Rolling out at the end of June, it summarizes pages, answers questions about what is on screen, generates images, and can auto-browse for Pro and Ultra users. A faster way to read long pages on your phone without copying anything into another app.
Grok tightened its limits. xAI updated Grok's fair-use policy so rate caps now apply cumulatively across text, image, voice, and code.
Anthropic put 150 million dollars into training people on Claude. The new Claude Corps program, run with CodePath and Social Finance, places fellows at nonprofits to build with Claude, starting with 100 and scaling toward 1,000. If you lead or fund a nonprofit, this is a free path to applied AI skills for your team.
Top Updates
1. The US government ordered Anthropic to suspend its two most powerful models
On June 12, three days after launch, Anthropic received a federal export-control directive citing national security and disabled both Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 for every user. The order bars access by any foreign national anywhere, including Anthropic's own staff, and since the company cannot screen foreign nationals from US users in real time, it shut both off entirely. Opus 4.8, Sonnet 4.6, and the rest stay online. Anthropic says it believes this is a misunderstanding and is working to restore access.
Read the full analysis The Government Pulled Anthropic's Two Best Models. Here Is What Still Works.
2. Microsoft Copilot Cowork is generally available, and it finishes the job
Shipped June 16 worldwide. Copilot Cowork runs complex, long-running, multi-tool tasks end to end and returns the finished result, not a draft. It is cloud-hosted so it keeps working with your laptop closed, stays inside your Microsoft 365 security boundary, and runs on Anthropic's Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6. More than half the Fortune 500 used it in preview. It needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and bills by usage in credits, and it is off until an admin turns it on.
Read the full analysis Copilot Cowork Is Live, and It Finishes the Job Instead of Drafting It
3. Grok Imagine now generates full video, not just stills
On June 11, xAI expanded Grok Imagine into text-to-video and image-to-video, with a public demo from Elon Musk. Upload one product photo or type a description and Grok returns a short clip with sound. It builds on Grok Imagine Video 1.5, which currently tops the image-to-video leaderboard, and it is available in Grok and through the API. For simple social and ad content, that removes the freelancer and the stock-footage license.
Read the full analysis Grok Imagine Makes Video Now: Turn One Product Photo Into a Clip
Pro Tip
Compare Two Contracts in 15 Minutes With One Opus 4.8 Prompt
With Fable 5 pulled this week, here is the long-document workflow that still runs on Opus 4.8, narrowed to the highest-value version: reconciling two agreements and citing the exact clause behind every difference.
Copy-ready guideProductivity Gem
Turn One Product Photo Into a Social Video With Grok Imagine
A repeatable ten-minute workflow that animates a single product still into a clip you can actually post, no freelancer and no stock license.
Put it to workHealth Tip
Read Your Heart Rate Variability Trend With ChatGPT
Your Apple Watch has logged HRV for months. Six months of it plus one ChatGPT prompt surfaces the single habit worth testing, on hardware and an app you already have.
Step-by-step guideKids Tip
Build Your Own Trivia Game in Scratch With Free Gemini
A weekend project where the child writes the questions and codes the scoring, and a free AI plays idea partner. Teaches real programming logic disguised as play.
Try the activityWrap Up
About the author
Pierre has spent 25+ years building growth systems across fintech, real estate, lending, campaigns, and AI workflows, with $1.5B+ in client value delivered.
If you have any questions or comments about The Government Pulled Anthropic's Two Best Models, and Microsoft Shipped a Copilot That Does the Whole Job feel free to reach out. I'd love to hear from you.
Contact PierreThree deep dives. Four useful moves. One email worth opening.
PromptHacker turns the AI firehose into practical next steps for work, health, family, and everything time keeps trying to steal.