Pete Hegseth tells Anthropic to fall in line with DoD desires, or else

Source: Ars Technica

Background

The Defense Production Act (DPA) gives the administration the ability to “allocate materials, services and facilities” for national defense. Both the Trump and Biden administrations invoked the DPA to address shortages of medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, and the Trump administration also used it to order an increase in U.S. production of critical minerals.

Pentagon AI Strategy

The Pentagon has advocated for open‑ended use of AI technology, aiming to expand the set of tools at its disposal to counter threats and conduct military operations. The department released its AI strategy last month, with Pete Hegseth stating in a memo that:

“AI‑enabled warfare and AI‑enabled capability development will redefine the character of military affairs over the next decade.”

Hegseth added that the U.S. military “must build on its lead” over foreign adversaries to make soldiers “more lethal and efficient,” and that the AI race is “fueled by the accelerating pace” of innovation coming from the private sector.

Anthropic’s Concerns

Anthropic has expressed particular concern about its models being used for lethal missions that do not have a human in the loop, arguing that state‑of‑the‑art AI models are not reliable enough to be trusted in those contexts, according to people familiar with the negotiations. The company has also pushed for new rules to govern the use of AI models for mass domestic surveillance, even where such surveillance is currently legal under existing regulations.

Potential Impact of Exclusion

A decision to cut Anthropic from the Defense Department’s supply chain would have significant ramifications for national‑security work and for the company, which holds a $200 million contract with the department. The move would also affect partners, including Palantir, that make use of Anthropic’s models.

Recent Incident Involving Claude

Claude was used in the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January. That mission prompted queries from Anthropic about the exact manner in which its model was used, according to people familiar with the matter.

Reactions

A person with knowledge of Tuesday’s meeting said that Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s co‑founder, had stressed to Hegseth that his company had never objected to legitimate military operations. The Defense Department declined to comment.