Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has responded to a US Department of Defense order prohibiting military defense contractors from using Anthropic’s AI products. The company had previously deployed its AI models on classified US military cloud networks.
Amodei stated that Anthropic objects to the use of its AI for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons that operate without human input. He confirmed that Anthropic is amenable to all other proposed US government use cases for its AI models.
"These are things that are fundamental to Americans: the right, not to be spied on by the government, the right for our military officers to make decisions about war, themselves, and not turn it over completely to a machine."
The Defense Department labeled Anthropic a "supply chain risk," a designation Amodei described as "unprecedented" and "punitive." He later clarified that while not opposed to the development of automated weapons by foreign militaries, he believes current AI is not reliable enough for autonomous military deployment.
This development follows an announcement from US officials labeling Anthropic a "supply chain risk to national security." Shortly after, rival AI firm OpenAI secured a contract with the US Defense Department to deploy its AI models across military networks.
