Tech industry professionals issued an open letter to the Department of Defense and Congress demanding the removal of Anthropic’s supply chain risk designation. The Pentagon applied the label, typically reserved for foreign adversaries, after negotiations failed regarding safeguards for the AI model Claude. Anthropic refused to remove protections preventing the model's use for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.
The Department of Defense directive orders all military contractors and partners to cease commercial activity with Anthropic. Anthropic maintains the designation is legally unsound, sets a dangerous precedent, and intends to challenge the decision in court.
More than 200 employees from Google and OpenAI signed the letter supporting Anthropic. These workers are urging their companies to oppose the Pentagon’s demands and defend the AI firm’s safety protocols.