U.S. Defense Department considers cutting ties with Anthropic over supply chain threat
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is close to terminating contracts with Anthropic and placing the company on a blacklist due to perceived threats to supply chains, according to a senior Pentagon official cited by Axios. This move would force companies working with the U.S. military to end cooperation with the AI system developer Claude.
The conflict stems from prolonged negotiations between Anthropic and the Pentagon regarding the use of Claude for military purposes. Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, is willing to ease conditions but demands assurances that the technology won’t be used for mass surveillance of Americans or developing autonomous weapons. The Pentagon considers these restrictions too strict and insists on the right to use Claude as it sees fit. The Defense Department leadership has instructed subordinates to cease communications with Anthropic until this public dispute is resolved.
This development highlights the challenging balance between security, ethics, and national interests as military and tech companies navigate the era of artificial intelligence.
