Anthropic Criticized by the Department of Defense for Ethical Bias

An Accusation of Ideological Bias

Emil Michael, Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. Department of Defense, has expressed severe criticism of the artificial intelligence models developed by Anthropic. According to him, these models, known as Claude, introduce "pollution" into the supply chain due to their integration of a "different political preference."

Michael explained to CNBC that Anthropic's "constitution," which emphasizes ethical and safety rules, could potentially lead to inefficiencies in military equipment such as weapons and bulletproof vests. However, he clarified that this classification was not intended to be punitive but was ideologically motivated.

A Controversial Classification

Anthropic has become the first American company to be classified as a risk to the supply chain, a designation typically reserved for adversarial nations. This decision has been contested by the company, which has initiated legal proceedings to challenge it.

Support for Anthropic has quickly emerged, with employees from major tech companies such as Microsoft, OpenAI, and Google, as well as former members of the U.S. military, voicing their support.

A Debate on AI Control

This situation is part of a broader context in which the U.S. administration seeks to regulate artificial intelligence along ideological lines. Regulations have been implemented to target what is labeled as "woke AI," presented as a commitment to political neutrality.

Anthropic has also contested the use of its AI models for mass surveillance in the United States and autonomous weapons, highlighting the ethical and security issues related to these technologies. This approach echoes the efforts of the Chinese government to exert political control over AI models.