Read the full article on KETV 7
On Friday, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to cease all use of tech company Anthropic’s artificial intelligence model, following a public dispute with the company over ethical and national security concerns.”THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL NEVER ALLOW A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY TO DICTATE HOW OUR GREAT MILITARY FIGHTS AND WINS WARS!” President Trump wrote in a social media post. “I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!”The President’s post came just over an hour before a 5:01 p.m. deadline for the Silicon Valley tech company, demanding it allow government access to its AI technology for “any lawful purposes,” or risk damaging its business.Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed a six-month phase-out of Anthropic’s tech in all federal agencies.”This week, Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon,” a social media post read. “Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for every LAWFUL purpose in defense of the Republic.”But during negotiations, Anthropic’s CEO insisted on maintaining the company’s ethical safeguards.In a statement, CEO Dario Amodei said the company “cannot in good conscience” comply with the Pentagon’s demands, which could include using its AI for mass surveillance in the U.S. and developing fully autonomous weapons that remove humans from the decision-making process. Assistant Secretary of Defense Sean Parnell countered, saying the department has “no interest” in using AI for mass surveillance or developing such weapons. “Here’s what we’re asking: Allow the Pentagon to use Anthropic’s model for all lawful purposes,” Parnell said in a social media post. “This is a simple, common-sense request that will prevent Anthropic from jeopardizing critical military operations and potentially putting our warfighters at risk.”An inquiry to the Pentagon to clarify its stance on “any lawful purposes” went unanswered on Friday.But experts speculate the dispute may show a shift in tech company behavior in politics.”Anthropic never had these hardline limits, so why now?” American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Will Rinehart questioned in a post. “The new administration, by insisting on ‘any lawful use,’ forced the issue. So if anything, this truly is the moment the AI labs stopped being software companies and started being political actors.” Experts suggest that rather than canceling the contract over the disagreement, the Trump administration took additional steps, not only imposing Friday’s deadline, but also threatening to use the Defense Production Act, a federal law that could seize the technology. The administration also said it would label Anthropic as a “supply chain risk,” a signal in the marketplace that Americans should not do business with it.”The Pentagon doesn’t have to buy products that don’t meet its needs, but simultaneously, it shouldn’t force a company to deliver a product the company doesn’t want to make,” senior fellow Annie Fixler from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said. “And, if we then have frontier AI companies racing to remove guardrails to win government contracts, that’s a long-term national security risk. It’s not a positive situation.”Fixler points to a recently released Anthropic report claiming that three Chinese companies attempted to extract the AI model to train their own systems. Fixler warns that this is where the real national security threat lies. “The real threat is Chinese AI companies outpacing American innovation, and so we need to be fostering competition and fostering innovation, because we want American companies to be leading AI,” Fixler said.Experts say that domestic disputes, like the current case with Anthropic, could ultimately stunt innovation and competition, giving adversaries an advantage and time to catch up. Watch the latest coverage on the Pentagon’s dispute with Anthropic:
On Friday, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to cease all use of tech company Anthropic’s artificial intelligence model, following a public dispute with the company over ethical and national security concerns.
“THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL NEVER ALLOW A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY TO DICTATE HOW OUR GREAT MILITARY FIGHTS AND WINS WARS!” President Trump wrote in a social media post. “I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!”
Advertisement
The President’s post came just over an hour before a 5:01 p.m. deadline for the Silicon Valley tech company, demanding it allow government access to its AI technology for “any lawful purposes,” or risk damaging its business.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed a six-month phase-out of Anthropic’s tech in all federal agencies.
“This week, Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon,” a social media post read. “Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for every LAWFUL purpose in defense of the Republic.”
But during negotiations, Anthropic’s CEO insisted on maintaining the company’s ethical safeguards.
In a statement, CEO Dario Amodei said the company “cannot in good conscience” comply with the Pentagon’s demands, which could include using its AI for mass surveillance in the U.S. and developing fully autonomous weapons that remove humans from the decision-making process.
Assistant Secretary of Defense Sean Parnell countered, saying the department has “no interest” in using AI for mass surveillance or developing such weapons.
“Here’s what we’re asking: Allow the Pentagon to use Anthropic’s model for all lawful purposes,” Parnell said in a social media post. “This is a simple, common-sense request that will prevent Anthropic from jeopardizing critical military operations and potentially putting our warfighters at risk.”
An inquiry to the Pentagon to clarify its stance on “any lawful purposes” went unanswered on Friday.
But experts speculate the dispute may show a shift in tech company behavior in politics.
“Anthropic never had these hardline limits, so why now?” American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Will Rinehart questioned in a post. “The new administration, by insisting on ‘any lawful use,’ forced the issue. So if anything, this truly is the moment the AI labs stopped being software companies and started being political actors.”
Experts suggest that rather than canceling the contract over the disagreement, the Trump administration took additional steps, not only imposing Friday’s deadline, but also threatening to use the Defense Production Act, a federal law that could seize the technology. The administration also said it would label Anthropic as a “supply chain risk,” a signal in the marketplace that Americans should not do business with it.
“The Pentagon doesn’t have to buy products that don’t meet its needs, but simultaneously, it shouldn’t force a company to deliver a product the company doesn’t want to make,” senior fellow Annie Fixler from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said. “And, if we then have frontier AI companies racing to remove guardrails to win government contracts, that’s a long-term national security risk. It’s not a positive situation.”
Fixler points to a recently released Anthropic report claiming that three Chinese companies attempted to extract the AI model to train their own systems. Fixler warns that this is where the real national security threat lies.
“The real threat is Chinese AI companies outpacing American innovation, and so we need to be fostering competition and fostering innovation, because we want American companies to be leading AI,” Fixler said.
Experts say that domestic disputes, like the current case with Anthropic, could ultimately stunt innovation and competition, giving adversaries an advantage and time to catch up.
Watch the latest coverage on the Pentagon’s dispute with Anthropic:
