Pentagon pressures Anthropic to unlock Claude for military use or risk contract
TL;DR
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pressed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to open Claude for unrestricted military use or face losing the government contract, with possible penalties like a supply-chain risk designation or use of the Defense Production Act. Amodei reaffirmed Anthropic’s safety and ethical lines—no fully autonomous military targeting and no domestic surveillance—highlighting the broader tension between national-security needs and AI ethics as the Pentagon expands its AI partnerships.
- AP report: Hegseth warns Anthropic to let the military use company's AI tech as it sees fit PBS
- Pentagon threatens to make Anthropic a pariah if it refuses to drop AI guardrails CNN
- Exclusive: Hegseth gives Anthropic until Friday to back down on AI safeguards Axios
- US military leaders pressure Anthropic to bend Claude safeguards The Guardian
- Pentagon Gives Anthropic an Ultimatum Over the Company’s A.I. Model The New York Times
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