Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeled artificial intelligence firm Anthropic a “supply chain risk to national security” on Friday, following days of escalating public conflict over the company’s effort to place guardrails on the Pentagon’s use of its technology.
Hegseth declared on X that effective immediately, “no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic.” This decision could have wide-ranging implications, given the vast number of companies that contract with the Pentagon.
“America’s warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech. This decision is final,” Hegseth wrote.
Earlier on Friday, former President Trump announced that all federal agencies must “immediately” stop using Anthropic. However, the Defense Department and certain other agencies may continue using its AI technology for up to six months while transitioning to other services.
CBS News has reached out to Anthropic for comment.
### Background of the Dispute
The decision to cut off Anthropic came after a dispute with the Pentagon that underscored profound disagreements about AI’s role in national security and the potential risks posed by powerful technology.
Anthropic is the only AI firm whose model is deployed on the Pentagon’s classified networks. The company sought guardrails preventing its technology from being used for mass surveillance of Americans or for military operations without human approval.
However, the Pentagon insisted that any agreement should allow use of Anthropic’s Claude model for “all lawful purposes.”
The Pentagon had set a deadline of Friday at 5:01 p.m. for Anthropic to either reach an agreement or lose out on its lucrative military contracts.
### Military’s Position
The Pentagon’s stance is that mass surveillance of Americans is already illegal and that internal policies restrict the military’s use of fully autonomous weapons.
As negotiations deteriorated, Pentagon officials publicly accused Anthropic of trying to impose its own views on the military.
Hegseth called Anthropic “sanctimonious” and arrogant, accusing the company of attempting to “strong-arm the United States military into submission.”
“Their true objective is unmistakable: to seize veto power over the operational decisions of the United States military. That is unacceptable,” he alleged.
### Anthropic’s Response
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has argued that guardrails are essential because Claude is not infallible enough to power fully autonomous weapons. He also highlighted serious privacy concerns raised by such a powerful AI model.
Amodei emphasized that the company recognizes military decisions are made by the Pentagon and has never tried to limit the use of its technology “in an ad hoc manner.”
He added, “However, in a narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values. Some uses are also simply outside the bounds of what today’s technology can safely and reliably do.”
Known for his outspoken views on the risks of unchecked AI technology, Amodei has long supported calls for safety and transparency regulations.
### Efforts to Reach an Agreement
On Thursday, the eve of the military’s deadline, Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael told CBS News that the Pentagon had made concessions. These included offering written acknowledgments of federal laws and internal military policies restricting mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.
“At some level, you have to trust your military to do the right thing,” said Michael. He also noted, “we’ll never say that we’re not going to be able to defend ourselves in writing to a company.”
Anthropic, however, found the offer insufficient. A company spokesperson said the new language was “paired with legalese that would allow those safeguards to be disregarded at will.”
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This unresolved dispute highlights the evolving challenges and tensions around AI’s integration into national security, balancing innovation with ethical and legal considerations.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hegseth-declares-anthropic-supply-chain-risk/
