Gotrade News - Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei flat-out rejected the Pentagon's ultimatum on Thursday (27/02), refusing to open up its AI model Claude for unrestricted military use. The move escalates a rare and very public standoff between a leading AI firm and the Department of Defense, which has threatened to pull Anthropic's contract and take even more aggressive action.
According to Anthropic's official statement, the company is holding firm on two red lines. Claude must not be used for mass surveillance of American citizens, and it must not power fully autonomous weapons. Amodei stressed that current AI technology simply isn't reliable enough to run autonomous weapons without putting both troops and civilians at risk.
Key Takeaways:
- Anthropic is standing its ground on two AI safeguards despite facing the loss of its Pentagon contract
- The Pentagon has threatened to invoke the Defense Production Act and slap Anthropic with a "supply chain risk" label
- The clash has sparked bipartisan pushback in Congress over AI governance in national security
The tension kicked off after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded a sit-down with Amodei on Tuesday (25/02). According to AP News, Hegseth gave Anthropic until Friday to grant the military access to Claude for "any lawful use" with no restrictions attached.
The Pentagon also put two additional threats on the table if Anthropic didn't fall in line. The first was designating Anthropic as a "supply chain risk," a label that's historically been reserved for U.S. adversaries and never slapped on an American company before. The second was invoking the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era law that could force the company to meet defense demands.
Amodei was quick to call out the contradiction in his official statement. One threat frames Anthropic as a security risk, while the other essentially declares Claude a must-have for national security.
Anthropic's Track Record in Defense
In his statement, Amodei pointed out that Anthropic was actually the first frontier AI company to deploy its models on the U.S. government's classified networks. Claude is already widely used across the Department of Defense for intelligence analysis, simulations, operational planning, and cyber operations.
Anthropic also claims it walked away from hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue by cutting off access to Claude for firms linked to the Chinese Communist Party. On top of that, the company helped shut down CCP-sponsored cyberattacks that tried to exploit Claude.
According to BBC reporting, a former Defense Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity called the Pentagon's legal grounds for both threats "extremely flimsy." Anthropic had even offered to collaborate directly with the Pentagon on R&D to improve AI reliability for autonomous weapons, but that offer was turned down.
Bipartisan Backlash in Congress
Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the Pentagon's handling of the situation unprofessional. According to AP News, Tillis questioned why negotiations with a strategic vendor were being aired out in public rather than handled behind closed doors.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner expressed deep concern over what he described as the Pentagon's attempt to "bully a leading U.S. company." Warner stressed the urgent need for Congress to establish binding AI governance frameworks for national security contexts.
Anthropic remains the only major AI company that hasn't supplied its tech to the Pentagon's new internal military network. The Defense Department already has contracts in place with Google, OpenAI, and Elon Musk's xAI for similar purposes.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell insisted that the U.S. military has no interest in using AI for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons without human involvement. However, Parnell didn't get into specifics about what exactly "any lawful use" would cover under the Pentagon's terms.
If talks fall through, Amodei said Anthropic would help facilitate a smooth handoff to another AI provider without disrupting ongoing military operations. This showdown is shaping up to be a defining test of how much say tech companies get in drawing ethical lines around AI use in defense.
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Reference:
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AP News, Anthropic CEO says AI company ‘cannot in good conscience accede’ to Pentagon’s demands. Accessed on February 27, 2026
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BBC, Anthropic boss rejects Pentagon demand to drop AI safeguards. Accessed on February 27, 2026
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Anthropic, Statement from Dario Amodei on our discussions with the Department of War. Accessed on February 27, 2026
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