Donald Trump said on Friday that he would direct all federal agencies to “immediately cease” all use of anthropogenic technology.
There was a standoff between the Department of Defense and Human Sciences with neither side backing down as the deadline for the agreement expired on Friday afternoon. The Pentagon had demanded the artificial intelligence company to loosen ethical guidelines on its AI systems or face serious consequences.
Trump gave a speech just an hour before the deadline Saying On Truth Social: “The leftist lunatics at Anthropic have made a disastrous mistake in trying to consolidate the War Department and force them to follow their terms of service instead of our Constitution.”
“We will decide the fate of our country — not some out-of-control, radical leftist AI company run by people who have no idea what the real world is,” Trump wrote.
Shortly after the deadline passed, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was directing his department to classify Anthropic as a supply-chain risk to national security, claiming that Anthropic’s “position is fundamentally inconsistent with American principles”. This type of designation is commonly used for foreign adversaries and can jeopardize a company’s partnerships with other businesses.
“Effective immediately, any contractor, supplier or partner that does business with the United States military may not conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic,” Hegseth said. wrote On X. “America’s warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech.”
Hegseth said the Pentagon, which had a $200 million, two-year deal With Anthropic, Will will continue to use Anthropic’s AI services for a transition period of no more than six months.
Anthropic did not return the Guardian’s request for comment regarding Friday’s developments.
On Thursday, Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei said in a statement His company “cannot in good conscience accept” the Pentagon’s demand for unrestricted use of its AI tools.
The public demonstration began earlier this week when the Department of Defense and Human Sciences held a discussion about the military’s use of the company’s cloud AI systems.. But talks broke down as the two sides appeared unable to agree on safety railings.
Anthropic, which presents itself as the most security-minded of leading AI companies, has been locked in a months-long disagreement with the Pentagon even before public discussions began this week. US defense officials have emphasized unfettered access to the cloud’s capabilities, which they say can help defend the country, while Anthropic Oppose Allowing your product to be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons systems that can kill people without human input.
“Anthropic understands that the War Department, not private companies, makes military decisions. We have never objected to specific military operations nor attempted to limit the use of our technology in an ad hoc manner,” Amodei said Thursday. “However, in some cases, we believe AI may undermine democratic values rather than protect them.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Thursday that the Defense Department has “no interest” in using AI for mass surveillance or to develop autonomous weapons. “This story is fake and is being spread by leftists in the media,” he said.
In Silicon Valley, Anthropic has received support from its staunchest rivals. Top executives from AI companies have publicly sided with Anthropic, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman who hinted in a cnbc interview OpenAI shares the same red lines as Anthropic on Friday.
Nearly 500 OpenAI and Google employees have also signed it open letter Saying that “we will not be divided”. Both OpenAI and Google also have contracts with the military.
“The Pentagon is in talks with Google and OpenAI to get them to agree to what Anthropic has refused to do,” the letter reads. “They’re trying to split up each company out of fear that the other company will give up.”
