It is all kicking off on X as the standoff between the US Department of Defense and Anthropic reaches a crescendo. Even US President Donald Trump got involved in the fiasco, accusing the company of being “woke” and strong-arming the Department of Defense. He further proposed a “six-month” phase-out period for Anthropic’s products.
Now, all hell has broken loose as US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has weighed in on the matter, stating that “Anthropic’s stance is fundamentally incompatible with American principles.”
The long post on X condemning Anthropic’s “defective altruism” has, however, been community-noted on the platform, implying that the company only declined the usage of its product for specific applications such as “mass domestic surveillance” and “fully autonomous weapons.”
Amidst all the commotion over defense contracts, Sam Altman has announced that his company has reached an agreement with the Department of Defense to use its AI models in classified missions. So, without further delay, let’s get to the exact details of this deeply heated controversy, which now includes the US security apparatus, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
Hegseth condemns Anthropic for “master class in arrogance”; X community thinks otherwise
It seems like the Department of Defense is refusing to budge in its effort to gain unrestricted access to Anthropic’s AI models for national security purposes. Accusing the company’s hierarchy of “arrogance” and “betrayal,” Hegseth said on X, “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.”
Echoing Donald Trump’s views about Anthropic wanting control over the US national security apparatus, he stated, “The Terms of Service of Anthropic’s defective altruism will never outweigh the safety, the readiness, or the lives of American troops on the battlefield. Their true objective is unmistakable: to seize veto power over the operational decisions of the United States military.”
Hegseth further said the current situation was “unacceptable,” as he wouldn’t let the destiny of the US armed forces be in the hands of “unelected tech executives.”
Making his stance on the issue crystal clear, he then ordered the Department of Defense to designate Anthropic a supply-chain risk to national security. “No contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic,” the Secretary noted.
However, his response was community-noted by X users, which stated, “Anthropic explicitly says military decisions belong to the government and are simply declining to license their product for certain uses, standard freedom-of-contract practice.”
Furthermore, in a tweet, US Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael disputed Anthropic’s claim of no communication from the DoD, portraying the Pentagon as having made repeated outreach attempts. By publicly timestamping calls and emails, he is showcasing that Anthropic was unresponsive while signaling that the administration’s actions were procedurally justified.
Meanwhile, another contender from the Silicon Valley AI bubble has stepped up to take on the responsibility of providing its services after the breakdown of negotiations between the US security apparatus and Anthropic.
Related: Donald Trump’s Top Defense R&D Official Calls Anthropic CEO A “Liar” With “God-Complex”
DoD has shown a deep respect for safety principles, says Sam Altman
Sam Altman announced on X that his company has agreed to provide its AI models to the US security apparatus for deployment in its classified network.
“Tonight, we reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy our models in their classified network. In all of our interactions, the DoW displayed a deep respect for safety and a desire to partner to achieve the best possible outcome,” he tweeted.
Notably, Altman stated that the DoW agreed on prohibitions on “domestic surveillance and autonomous weapon systems.” This statement gains significance as these are the same grounds upon which Anthropic refused to sign the dotted line on the defense contract the Pentagon had offered.
“We are asking the DoW to offer these same terms to all AI companies, which, in our opinion, we think everyone should be willing to accept. We have expressed our strong desire to see things de-escalate away from legal and governmental actions and towards reasonable agreements. We remain committed to serving all of humanity as best we can. The world is a complicated, messy, and sometimes dangerous place,” Altman further added.
It must be noted that there is no official confirmation of any defense deals with OpenAI from the DoD’s side. It remains to be seen whether Anthropic’s rival gets the contract now that the company’s services will no longer be required for US military purposes. Reportedly, Elon Musk’s xAI has also been approved for use in classified military systems.
