As AI capabilities continue to evolve, experts warned that South African companies cannot rely on regulation alone and must invest in continuous cyber defence.
The temporary suspension of some of the world's most advanced artificial intelligence models may have reassured many business leaders, but cyber security experts warned that restricting access to powerful AI is no substitute for strengthening cyber defences.
Richard Ford, Group Chief Technology Officer at Integrity360, said South African organisations should focus less on whether advanced AI models are available and more on the capabilities they have already demonstrated.
His comments followed the United States government's decision in June to suspend worldwide access to Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5 artificial intelligence models on national security grounds. Access to Fable 5 was restored on 1 July after export controls were lifted and new safeguards were introduced.
Ford said the brief suspension should not create a false sense of security.
