Pentagon Halts Anthropic Contract Over Battlefield AI Ban, Signs 7 Rival Deals
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 27
Pentagon Halts Anthropic Contract Over Battlefield AI Ban, Signs 7 Rival Deals
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 27
Summary
The Pentagon froze its relationship with Anthropic this spring after officials found contract language barring AI use for battlefield management, including missile-defense scenarios, according to Under Secretary Emil Michael.
Michael said he asked Anthropic to revise the agreement so the military could use the technology for all lawful purposes, but the company refused, citing its own moral values and internal constitution.
7 competitors — SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services — won new Pentagon AI contracts as Anthropic was sidelined.
The dispute is now in federal court, with Anthropic publicly opposing the Pentagon policy that authorizes military AI use for all lawful purposes.
Michael also blamed the Biden administration for the original contract, saying prior compute rules effectively made Anthropic the government's preferred AI company.