Pentagon threatens to blacklist AI firm in weapons standoff
Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei has pushed back against the Pentagon, refusing to drop key safeguards from its Claude AI.
In a blog post, Amodei called mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons "red lines" he won't cross—and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later threatened to blacklist the company if it didn't comply by day's end.
Amodei warns of dangers
Amodei explained, "We cannot in good conscience accede to their request," warning that removing protections could let AI track people's movements and online lives—something he says would violate basic freedoms.
He also pointed out that current tech just isn't safe enough for weapons without human oversight.
President Trump gets involved
New Pentagon contracts now allow "all lawful purposes," potentially bypassing existing safeguards.
In response, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic tech within six months.
The Pentagon then labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk and banned military contractors from working with them.
Claude's classified use
Dario Amodei is Anthropic's CEO.
Claude has been used in classified missions—including in the operation to capture Venezuela's President Maduro.