Federal agencies directed to cease using Anthropic products; DoD to designate Anthropic as a Supply-Chain Risk for national security concerns.
Federal Action Against Anthropic Amid AI Dispute
In a recent move, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to cease the use of all Anthropic products following an open disagreement between the private technology firm and the Department of Defense (DoD). In a post on Truth Social, the president stated that departments would have a six-month phase-out period for these products. He further emphasized that Anthropic was no longer welcome as a federal contractor, declaring, "We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again." Notably, Trump’s post did not include plans to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk, which had been previously mentioned.
Department of Defense Responds
In response, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth tweeted that the DoD would formally designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security. According to his tweet, "Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic." The Pentagon dispute centered on Anthropic’s refusal to allow its AI models to be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons, which Secretary Hegseth found unduly restrictive. In a public post, CEO Dario Amodei reiterated his stance, stating that "Our strong preference is to continue to serve the Department and our warfighters — with our two requested safeguards in place."
Tech Industry Reactions
OpenAI, another prominent AI company, reportedly came out in support of Anthropic’s decision. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, sent a memo to staff on Thursday, expressing his agreement with "red lines" set by Anthropic and noting that any related defense contracts would also reject uses deemed "unlawful or unsuited to cloud deployments." Co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who has recently founded his own AI company, took to the social media platform X to express his support, writing: “It’s extremely good that Anthropic has not backed down, and it's significant that OpenAI has taken a similar stance. In the future, there will be much more challenging situations of this nature, and it will be critical for the relevant leaders to rise up to the occasion."
OpenAI's Counter-Move
Within hours of the Trump administration’s order, OpenAI moved swiftly to fill the void by announcing a deal with the Pentagon that preserved Anthropic’s core principles: prohibitions on domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. According to reports from The New York Times, these talks began as early as Wednesday of this week between OpenAI and government officials. While some Google employees have expressed support for Anthropic, the company itself has yet to comment officially.
Outlook
These developments in the AI industry highlight ongoing tensions around ethical considerations and national security in the deployment of advanced technologies. The future trajectory of these negotiations remains uncertain, with further developments anticipated as both companies navigate complex relationships with federal agencies.
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