AI Chief Defies US Defence Secretary Threats Over Weapons Restrictions

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Anthropic has dismissed threats from the United States Department of Defence. The AI firm has refused to allow its products to be used for autonomous weapons by the US military.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stated that the company “cannot in conscience” allow the US Department of Defence to use their AI model without restrictions, even for actions aligned with US law.

Over the past few weeks, the startup has been in negotiations with the Pentagon regarding the use of their AI model. Amid negotiations, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to impose a “supply chain threat” designation on Anthropic to force them to change their usage restriction policy. Anthropic was also threatened with invocation of the Defence Production Act to compel compliance with US government demands.

Anthropic has insisted on maintaining its policy prohibiting its AI models from being used for autonomous weapons and mass surveillance of US citizens. The Pentagon wants these restrictions lifted.

“The selection of defence contractors according to their vision is the prerogative of the Department of Defence. However, given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to the US military, we hope they will reconsider,” Amodei said.

Hegseth, who now refers to himself as Secretary of War, has met with Amodei. Anthropic was given a deadline until Friday to comply with his demands.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that the Pentagon “has no plans” to use Anthropic’s model for autonomous weaponry or to conduct mass surveillance in the United States.

“This is a simple and reasonable request, to prevent Anthropic from disrupting military operations and placing our soldiers at risk,” Parnell said.

Anthropic signed a $200 million contract with the Pentagon in July as a first experiment integrating their AI model with the Pentagon’s classified network.

Anthropic’s competitors including OpenAI, Google, and xAI also received contracts of equivalent value from the Pentagon. These three companies have agreed to allow the Department of Defence to use their models provided they do not violate the law.