The Pentagon Identifies Anthropic as a New Risk

The Pentagon Designates Anthropic as a Major Risk

The United States Department of Defense has made an unprecedented decision by classifying Anthropic, an American company specializing in artificial intelligence, as a "supply chain risk." This measure, typically reserved for foreign companies suspected of ties to adversarial governments, now prohibits defense contractors from integrating Anthropic's AI program, Claude, into their products. This is the first time a U.S. company has publicly received this label.

This escalation comes after weeks of tensions between the Pentagon and Anthropic, marked by unsuccessful negotiations and threats of legal action. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report this designation, which could have significant repercussions on the relationship between the government and the tech sector.

A Conflict Over AI Usage

The crux of the dispute lies in Anthropic's refusal to allow the use of its Claude program for applications such as autonomous lethal weapons without human oversight and mass surveillance. The Pentagon believes that the restrictions imposed by Anthropic on the governmental use of Claude grant too much power to the private company. For its part, Anthropic is concerned about the government's ability to adhere to these restrictions.

Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, confirmed that he received notification from the Pentagon and stated that the action was not legally founded, adding that they had no choice but to contest it in court.

Consequences and Reactions

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that any company collaborating with Anthropic, even outside of contracts with the Pentagon, could see its defense contracts canceled. This broad application of the law has been deemed illegal by Anthropic, which has decided to challenge this decision in court.

President Donald Trump and Hegseth have given Anthropic a six-month deadline to remove Claude from government systems. However, this task is expected to be complex, particularly for the military, where intelligence tools powered by Claude have played a significant role in recent operations.