The Department of War is declaring war on an American company.
The Pentagon has officially deemed the artificial intelligence firm Anthropic PBC to be a “supply chain risk” over an ongoing dispute concerning restrictions Anthropic wants to place on the military’s use of its AI programs, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
The designation is normally used for foreign companies based in nations that are adversaries of the U.S., according to The Wall Street Journal.
It not only cuts Anthropic out of government contracting, it could force companies that wish to do business with the government to cut ties with the company as well.
“DOW officially informed Anthropic leadership the company and its products are deemed a supply chain risk, effective immediately,” a senior Pentagon official told Bloomberg, using the acronym for Department of War.
The designation is the latest escalation of a weeks-long dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic, as Politico reported.
The company wants the Pentagon to agree that its AI product — known as “Claude” — will not be used for surveillance of American citizens or in the development of autonomous weapons systems (systems that will operate without human oversight).
“Claude” is already in use at the Pentagon, and reportedly played a role in the successful operation that captured now-former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
However, the Pentagon refuses to accept any limitations on lawful use of technology it procures. And it apparently sees the Anthropic demands as a precedent that could shackle defense measures in the future.
“From the very beginning, this has been about one fundamental principle: The military being able to use technology for all lawful purposes,” the Pentagon said in the statement.
“The military will not allow a vendor to insert itself into the chain of command by restricting the lawful use of a critical capability and put our warfighters at risk.”
Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei blasted the Pentagon in a memo last week to Anthropic employees that was leaked to the media.
In the memo, according to the Wall Street Journal, he wrote that the tussle with the Pentagon was fueled by Anthropic’s resistance to giving President Donald Trump “dictator-style praise.”
On Thursday, Amodei apologized for the phrasing in the memo and said the company would fight the “supply chain risk” designation in court, the newspaper reported.
“We do not believe this action is legally sound,” he said, according to the report.
He could be supported by Democrats.
On Thursday, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democratic presidential contender in the 2020 election cycle, issued a statement attacking the Pentagon’s decision.
“This reckless action is shortsighted, self-destructive, and a gift to our adversaries,” the statement said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“The government openly attacking an American company for refusing to compromise its own safety measures is something we expect from China, not the United States.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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