US Weapon Supplier Suddenly Seeks Religious Leaders' Help
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - US artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic has called for the involvement of religious leaders and governments to oversee the rapid development of AI.
The request was made by one of Anthropic’s founders, Chris Olah, at an event in the Vatican on Monday (25 May), coinciding with the launch of Pope Leo’s first encyclical addressing AI challenges.
Olah stressed that AI development cannot be left solely in the hands of technology firms, requiring broader oversight from religious leaders, governments, and civil society due to its profound impact on human life.
‘If this occurs, supporting those affected would become a historic moral duty,’ Olah said, quoted by Reuters on Tuesday (26 May 2026).
The statement drew attention as Anthropic is a leading US AI firm and a supplier of AI technology for US military needs. However, the company has clashed with the US government after refusing to allow its AI tools to be used for developing autonomous weapons or surveillance of citizens.
Trump was furious and banned the use of AI tools across government agencies. Nevertheless, The Wall Street Journal reported that Anthropic’s AI was still used in the war against Iran on 28 February for combat simulation and enemy targeting.
At the event, Olah acknowledged that AI companies face significant pressures, including business competition, geopolitical interests, and internal challenges.
He noted these pressures can conflict with public interests.
‘Every leading AI lab operates within incentive systems that sometimes conflict with doing the right thing,’ he said.
Anthropic, based in the US, developed the chatbot Claude. Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, the company’s founders left OpenAI over concerns that AI development was progressing too quickly without adequate testing.
At the Vatican, Olah was the sole representative from a major tech company. He stressed the Church’s involvement is crucial as AI issues extend beyond technology to ethics and global social impact.
Olah highlighted three major risks requiring immediate global response: widespread job losses due to AI, uneven distribution of AI benefits concentrated in wealthy nations, and unanswered questions about understanding increasingly complex and opaque AI systems.