The current collision between the Department of Defense and Anthropic over whether Anthropic's A.I. models should be bound by ethical constraints or made available for all uses the Pentagon might have in mind raises significant concerns about the future of AI governance.
Last week, a group of Democratic congresspeople, all of them veterans either from the military or from the intelligence agencies, released a video in which they reminded people currently serving that, not only are they able to refuse an illegal order, but that those in the military are required to do so. This, of course, sent the usual escadrille of flying monkeys into low-earth orbit, from the president and the vice president all the way down the opinion food chain to Bill Maher.
Some of our leaders don't really care about all of those who serve our country. The Trump administration is quietly moving forward with plans to involuntarily discharge more than 4,000 brave Americans not because they can't do the job, but because they're transgender. They make some people uncomfortable. In the past, I would have asked my father what he thought about this. Sadly, I can't do that.
An Israeli battalion commanding officer reportedly ordered soldiers to kill people with white flags, but they refused due to military ethics, highlighting a troubling moral conflict.
