WASHINGTON — The Secretary of Defense labeled artificial intelligence company Anthropic a “supply chain risk to national security” and banned virtually any company doing business with the Pentagon from working with the company after the company rejected the Pentagon’s request to remove internal guardrails on its AI models.
“This week, Anthropic delivered a masterclass in arrogance and betrayal, as well as a textbook example of how not to do business with the U.S. government and Department of Defense,” Pete Hegseth wrote for X. “Our position has and will never waver. The Department of the Army must have full and unrestricted access to Anthropic models for all lawful purposes of defense of the Republic.”
Hegseth’s tweet came on the heels of President Donald Trump’s offensive letter ordering the entire federal government to “immediately cease” the use of Anthropic’s technology.
“The left-wing lunatics at Anthropic made a disastrous mistake in trying to strengthen the Department of the Army and force it to follow the Code of Service instead of the Constitution,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Their self-interest is endangering American lives, endangering our military, and endangering our national security.”
President Trump said some government agencies, like the Pentagon, would have a six-month “phase-out” period during which he said humanity “better get our act together.” […] Otherwise, I will use the full power of the presidency to compel them to comply, with serious civil and criminal consequences. ”
On Thursday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei issued a statement saying the company “in good conscience… [the Pentagon’s] “We demand that companies abandon corporate policies related to the use of AI for lethal autonomous operations and large-scale domestic surveillance.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Pentagon has “no interest” in using AI for any mission, but was upset about the existence of guardrails.
“What we are asking is that the Department of Defense be allowed to use Anthropic models for any lawful purpose,” Parnell said Thursday. “This is a simple, common sense request to prevent Anthropic from potentially jeopardizing critical military operations and endangering our nation’s warfighters. We will not allow any company to dictate the terms of how operational decisions are made.”
In Anthropic’s statement, Amodei insisted that the company has worked closely with the military, saying, “We have never objected to a specific military operation, nor have we ever sought to limit the use of our technology in military operations.” For this purpose manner.
“However, we believe that in limited cases, AI could undermine rather than protect democratic values. Some applications simply go beyond what can be safely and reliably implemented with today’s technology,” he said, referring to autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance.
Later in the letter, he said, “It is the Department of Defense’s prerogative to choose the contractor that best aligns with their vision. However, given the tremendous value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our military, we hope they reconsider.”
“Our strong desire is to continue to serve the Department of Defense and our soldiers with the two safeguards we have requested,” the letter said. “If the Department chooses to offboard Anthropic, we will work to avoid disruption to ongoing military programs, operations, or other critical missions and allow for a smooth transition to another provider.”
Trump’s reference to a six-month phase-out period reflects issues that are reportedly deeply implicated in the federal government, including the Department of Defense, where Anthropic’s AI technology, particularly its Claude AI model, is used at a classified level. Anthropic was one of four technology companies awarded contracts last summer worth up to $200 million each to customize popular generative AI applications for military use.
The public battle between AI companies and the Pentagon has also involved other major technology companies, including xAI’s Elon Musk and Palantir’s Alex Karp (both of whom appear to be siding with the Pentagon) and OpenAI, which reportedly shares red lines with Anthropic. According to Axios, senior senators on the Armed Services Committee will send a letter to the Pentagon today urging officials to resolve the dispute.
Hegseth said in a tweet today that Antropic will “continue to provide service to the Department of the Army for a period of up to six months to allow for a seamless transition to a better, more patriotic service.”
“America’s warfighters will never be held hostage to the ideological whims of Big Tech companies. This decision is final.”
