Anthropic Boss Refuses US Defense Call to Loosen AI Safeguards

AI company Anthropic has said it will not retreat from its dispute with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) over how its artificial intelligence tools are deployed.

Chief executive Dario Amodei said on Thursday that the company would rather forgo Pentagon contracts than permit uses of its technology that could “undermine, rather than defend, democratic values.”

His remarks came two days after a meeting with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, during which officials pressed Anthropic to accept “any lawful use” of its AI systems. According to Amodei, the discussions ended with a warning that the company could be removed from the DoD’s supply chain.

“These threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request,” Amodei said.

At the heart of the dispute is the potential use of Anthropic’s AI tools, including its flagship model Claude, for what the company describes as “mass domestic surveillance” and “fully autonomous weapons.” Amodei said such applications have never been part of its contracts with the department — referred to as the Department of War under an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump in September — and should not be introduced now.

“Should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider,” he added.

An Anthropic spokeswoman said revised contract language received from the DoD on Wednesday night showed “virtually no progress” in preventing Claude’s use for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons systems. “New language framed as compromise was paired with legalese that would allow those safeguards to be disregarded at will,” she said, adding that the issue of safeguards has been central to negotiations for months.

A Defense Department representative was not immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, US Undersecretary for Defense Emil Michael criticised Amodei on social media, accusing him of attempting to exert undue influence over the military and risking national security.

In an interview with CBS News, Michael said the AI uses Anthropic fears are already restricted by law and Pentagon policy. “At some level, you have to trust your military to do the right thing,” he said, adding that the US must remain prepared in the face of technological advances by China.

A Pentagon official had previously indicated that if Anthropic declined to comply, the Defense Production Act could be invoked against the company.