U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to the Pentagon for a meeting regarding the military use of the Claude AI model. The dispute centers on Anthropic’s refusal to remove safeguards preventing AI use in mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons systems.
The Pentagon demands that AI partners permit model usage for all lawful purposes. Officials threatened to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk if it maintains current restrictions. This designation would terminate existing contracts and prohibit other defense contractors from using Anthropic technology.
Claude currently serves as the only AI model available within the U.S. military’s classified systems. The proposed designation would effectively isolate Anthropic from the entire defense sector.