Anthropic Rejects Unrestricted US Military Use

Anthropic is pushing back against Pentagon pressure to allow unrestricted military use of its AI technology.

"Using these systems for mass domestic surveillance is incompatible with democratic values," said CEO Dario Amodei, per DW. "We will not knowingly provide a product that puts America's warfighters and civilians at risk."

The company was commissioned by the Pentagon in 2025 alongside OpenAI, Google, and Grok to supply AI models for military applications in a contract worth $200 million.

After a meeting with Amodei this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic an ultimatum: open up its technology for use in a "classified setting" by Friday, as the other companies have, or risk losing its government contract. Military officials warned they could designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk or invoke Cold War-era legislation to gain more sweeping authority.

"These threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request," Amodei said, calling the threats "inherently contradictory" since they label Anthropic's systems simultaneously a "security risk" and "essential to national security."