Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s chief executive, has said he does not want the company’s A.I. to be used to surveil Americans or in autonomous weapons, saying this could “undermine, rather than defend, democratic values.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeled the start-up a “supply chain risk,” a move that would sever ties between the company and the U.S. government.
Anthropic’s unwillingness to accede shows how the Department of Defense cannot easily force Silicon Valley firms to comply. Unlike defense contractors that have worked with the Pentagon for decades and are reliant on longstanding military contracts, the A.I. companies are contending with different internal pressures and external factors.
The real problem for Anthropic is the clearly vindictive “supply chain threat” designation they were immediately slapped with, which prohibits the Defense Department from buying services from anyone who uses Anthropic’s services themselves.
This can be contested in court, at least, and is almost sure to be ruled on in Anthropic’s favor since it’s so blatantly unjustified. But that might not matter. It’ll take a while (costing contracts and momentum) and once the ruling is made I wouldn’t bet on the Trump administration obeying it anyway.