Anthropic CEO Amodei says Pentagon’s threats ‘do not change our position’ on AI
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday that the company “cannot in good conscience” allow the Department of Defense to use its models in all legal use cases without limitation, adding that the agency’s threats did not change its position.
The artificial intelligence startup has been engaged in tense negotiations with the Pentagon in recent weeks and said on Thursday that those discussions were still ongoing. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to label Anthropic a “supply chain risk” or invoke the Defense Production Act to force the company to comply with his demands.
Anthropic wants assurances that its models will not be used for fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance of Americans, while the Department of Defense wants to be able to use the models without those restrictions.
“It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors that best suit their vision,” Amodei wrote. a statement. “But given the significant value Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they will reconsider.”
Hegseth met with Amodei at the Pentagon on Tuesday and gave Anthropic until Friday evening to agree to his agency’s demands. The Defense Department sent Anthropic its “last and final offer” Wednesday night, according to a senior Pentagon official.
Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said Thursday that the Defense Department has “no interest” in using Anthropic’s models for fully autonomous weapons or for mass surveillance on Americans, calling it illegal. He emphasized that the agency wants the company to agree to allow its models to be used for “all lawful purposes.”
“This is a simple, common-sense request that will prevent Anthropic from jeopardizing critical military operations and potentially putting our warfighters at risk,” Parnell said. he wrote. a post Thursday at X. “We will not allow ANY company to dictate the terms of how we make operational decisions.”
Antropik signed 200 million dollars It signed a contract with the Department of Defense in July, becoming the first lab to integrate its models into mission workflows in covert networks.
The startup’s competitors, OpenAI, Google and xAI, were also given contract awards of up to $200 million from the Department of Defense last year. These companies have agreed to allow the Department of Defense to use their models for all lawful purposes within the military’s unclassified systems, but xAI also agreed this week to allow its models to be used in classified environments.
“Our strong preference is to continue to serve the Ministry and our warfighters with the two requested security measures,” Amodei said. he said. “Should the Department choose to exit Anthropic, we will work to ensure a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations or other critical missions.”
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