Anthropic, DoD face off over acceptable military AI use

"The Pentagon's unhappiness with Anthropic has been in the news since the end of last month, when Reuters reported that the two were clashing over safeguards that would prevent the DoD from using Anthropic's AI to autonomously target weapons without human intervention and to conduct domestic surveillance within the United States."

"A senior Pentagon official told us that, if Anthropic refuses to let the Defense Department do what it wants with its AI by the end of the day on Friday, it may compel the company to do what it wants through the Defense Production Act. The DPA gives the President and any executive branch officials to whom he delegates such authority, like the Defense Secretary, broad authority to require businesses to accept contracts deemed necessary to promote the national defense."

"The DoD is also reserving the right to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk, essentially forcing any company that contracts with the US government to eliminate Anthropic software anywhere it's used in their dealings with the federal government. Such a move could be a major financial blow to the AI provider."

The Defense Department met with Anthropic at the Pentagon to pressure the AI company into lifting safety restrictions on military applications. The Pentagon seeks to use Anthropic's Claude AI for autonomous weapons targeting without human intervention and domestic surveillance operations. Anthropic has resisted these demands, but recent policy changes suggest potential flexibility. Facing resistance, the Pentagon threatened to invoke the Defense Production Act, which grants executive authority to compel businesses to accept contracts deemed necessary for national defense. Additionally, the DoD reserved the right to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk, potentially forcing government contractors to eliminate Anthropic software from their operations, which could severely impact the company's finances.

Read at Theregister