Trump orders government, DoD to 'immediately cease' use of Anthropic's tech amid AI fight

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense has labeled the artificial intelligence firm Anthropic a “Supply-Chain Risk to National Security,” barring virtually any company that does business with the Pentagon from working with the firm, after it refused to Defense Department’s demand to remove internal guardrails on its AI model.

“This week, Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon,” Pete Hegseth wrote on X. “Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for every LAWFUL purpose in defense of the Republic.”

Hegseth’s tweet followed an aggressive missive from President Donald Trump in which he ordered the entire federal government to “immediately cease” the use of Anthropic’s tech.

“The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY.”

Trump said some government agencies, like the Pentagon, will undergo a six-month “phase out” period, during which he said Anthropic “better get their act together, and be helpful […] or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow.”

On Thursday Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a statement saying the company “cannot in good conscience accede to [the Pentagon’s] request” to abandon company policies related to the use of its AI for lethal autonomous operations or mass domestic surveillance.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell has said the DoD has “no interest” in using AI for either task, but chafed at the existence of the guardrails.

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“Here’s what we’re asking: Allow the Pentagon to use Anthropic’s model for all lawful purposes,” Parnell said Thursday. “This is a simple, common-sense request that will prevent Anthropic from jeopardizing critical military operations and potentially putting our warfighters at risk. We will not let ANY company dictate the terms regarding how we make operational decisions.”

In Anthropic’s statement, Amodei argued that the company had worked closely with the military and said, “We have never raised objections to particular military operations nor attempted to limit use of our technology in an ad hoc manner.

“However, in a narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values. Some uses are also simply outside the bounds of what today’s technology can safely and reliably do,” he said, referring to the autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance.

Later in the letter, he said, “It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision. But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider.

“Our strong preference is to continue to serve the Department and our warfighters — with our two requested safeguards in place,” the letter says. “Should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions.”

Trump’s mention of a sixth-month phase out period reflects the issue that Anthropic’s AI tech, specifically its Claude AI model, is reportedly deeply enmeshed in the federal government, including at the Pentagon where it’s used on the classified level. Anthropic was one of four tech firms that won contracts each worth up to $200 million last summer to customize their popular generative AI applications for military use.

The public tussle between the AI firm and the Pentagon has drawn in other key tech players, like xAI’s Elon Musk and Palantir’s Alex Karp, both of whom appeared to take the Pentagon’s side, and OpenAI, which reportedly said it shares Anthropic’s red lines. According to Axios, senior senators on the Armed Services Committee wrote a letter to the Pentagon today urging officials to settle the dispute.

In his tweet today, Hegseth said Anthropic would “continue to provide the Department of War its services for a period of no more than six months to allow for a seamless transition to a better and more patriotic service.

“America’s warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech. This decision is final.”