Disagreement over the use of AI for military purposes is putting pressure on cooperation between the Pentagon and Anthropic

READ ALSO.

Two years of work by a German professor is lost by one mouse click on ChatGPT: “Suddenly all project folders were empty”

The company’s stance on how its AI tools may be used has sharpened disagreements with the Trump administration; details about this were not previously reported. A spokesperson for the Defense Department, which was renamed the Department of War by the Trump administration, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Anthropic stated that its AI is “used extensively for national security missions by the U.S. government and we are having productive conversations with the Department of War about ways to continue that work.”

The dispute, which could threaten Anthropic’s Pentagon business, comes at a sensitive time for the company. The San Francisco-based start-up is preparing for a possible IPO. In addition, it has deployed significant resources to win national security contracts and sought an active role in shaping government policy on AI. Anthropic is one of a few major AI developers to receive contracts from the Pentagon last year. Others included Alphabet’s Google, Elon Musk’s xAI and OpenAI.

READ ALSO.

Facebook, Microsoft and Tesla are expanding investments in AI

In conversations with government officials, Anthropic representatives expressed concerns that their tools could be used to spy on Americans or help target weapons without sufficient human oversight, some sources told Reuters. The Pentagon has chafed at the company’s guidelines. In line with a Jan. 9 memo on AI strategy, Pentagon officials have argued that they should be able to deploy commercial AI technology regardless of companies’ usage policies, as long as they comply with U.S. law, sources said.

Not one, but two companies win Innovation Award from VOKA: AI and drones are central

At the same time, Pentagon officials would likely need Anthropic’s cooperation. The company’s models are trained to avoid steps that could lead to harm, and Anthropic employees would be tasked with customizing the AI ​​for the Pentagon, some sources said. Anthropic’s caution has previously led to clashes with the Trump administration, Semafor reported.

In an essay on his personal blog, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned this week that AI must support national defense “in all ways except those that would make us more like our autocratic adversaries.” Amodei was among Anthropic co-founders critical of deadly shootings that killed American citizens during anti-immigration enforcement protests in Minneapolis, which he described as a “horror” in a post on Those deaths have heightened concerns among some Silicon Valley tech companies about the government’s potential use of their tools for violence.