tech
February 28, 2026
The Pentagon vs Anthropic: Why a tech giant is defying the US military on use of AI
US AI firm Anthropic is defying Pentagon demands to scrap mass surveillance and autonomous weapons safeguards on its chatbot Claude
TL;DR
- Anthropic's Claude chatbot, used on US military classified networks, is at the center of a dispute with the Pentagon over its use for war and surveillance.
- The Department of Defense has blacklisted Anthropic as a 'supply chain risk' and President Trump ordered federal agencies to halt its use.
- Anthropic is refusing to remove safeguards against using Claude for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, citing ethical concerns and reliability.
- The Pentagon argues it needs to use the system for 'all lawful purposes' without contractor-imposed limitations.
- Employees from rival firms Google and OpenAI have signed an open letter supporting Anthropic's stance.
- The dispute is seen as potentially setting precedents for AI governance in defense and future conflicts.
Continue reading the original article