Anthropic is suing the Department of Defense | The Verge
Overview
Tech Expand Amazon Apple Facebook Google Microsoft Samsung Business See all tech
Reviews Expand Smart Home Reviews Phone Reviews Tablet Reviews Headphone Reviews See all reviews
Details
Science Expand Space Energy Environment Health See all science
Entertainment Expand TV Shows Movies Audio See all entertainment
Policy Expand Antitrust Politics Law Security See all policy
Gadgets Expand Laptops Phones TVs Headphones Speakers Wearables See all gadgets
Verge Shopping Expand Buying Guides Deals Gift Guides See all shopping
Streaming Expand Disney HBONetflix You Tube Creators See all streaming
Transportation Expand Electric Cars Autonomous Cars Ride-sharing Scooters See all transportation
AIClose AIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All AI
Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Business Close Business Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Business
Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All News
Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
The Trump admin labeled Anthropic’s AI a supply-chain risk after the company wouldn’t back down on acceptable uses for its tech.
The Trump admin labeled Anthropic’s AI a supply-chain risk after the company wouldn’t back down on acceptable uses for its tech.
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Anthropic has sued the US government over its designation as a supply-chain risk, the latest move in a weekslong battle between it and the Pentagon over the acceptable use cases for its military AI tech. The suit, filed in a California district court, accuses the Trump administration of illegally punishing the company for setting “red lines” on mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.
“The federal government retaliated against a leading frontier AI developer for adhering to its protected viewpoint on a subject of great public significance — AI safety and the limitations of its own AI models — in violation of the Constitution and laws of the United States,” the suit reads. “Defendants are seeking to destroy the economic value created by one of the world’s fastest-growing private companies, which is a leader in responsibly developing an emergent technology of vital significance to our Nation.”
The Pentagon formally labels Anthropic a supply-chain risk
Anthropic doesn’t want its AI killing people unsupervised. The Pentagon isn’t happy.
How Open AI caved to the Pentagon on AI surveillance
The lawsuit follows a rollercoaster couple of weeks for Anthropic, in which the company was faced with the threat of — and then the official designation of — being made a supply chain risk. The designation is typically not made public and often applies to foreign companies that could be a cybersecurity threat or other material risk to national security, rather than companies headquartered in the US. Additionally, President Donald Trump ordered all government agencies to cease using Anthropic’s tech within six months. Anthropic’s blacklisting raised eyebrows and caused significant bipartisan controversy due to fears that disagreeing with a current presidential administration could significantly affect a company’s bottom line — and whether it was able to operate as a business altogether.
Anthropic argues that the government’s actions penalize it for speech protected under the First Amendment and violate its Fifth Amendment rights. Moreover, it says the demand for all government agencies to drop it falls outside the authority of the executive branch.
Anthropic has said since the original announcement that it would challenge the supply chain risk designation in court. In recent days, some of the company’s biggest clients, like Microsoft, have made clear that they’re continuing to work with Anthropic but setting up processes so that their work with Anthropic has no involvement in any of their own work with the Pentagon.
However, the suit notes that government agencies outside the Department of Defense have cut ties with Anthropic. The General Services Administration terminated its One Gov contract, “ending the availability of Anthropic services to all three branches of the federal government.” And multiple other agencies — including the Department of the Treasury and State Department — have publicly or (reportedly) privately said they plan to cease using it as well.
Hayden Field Close Hayden Field Senior AI Reporter Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All by Hayden Field
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
AIClose AIPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All AI
Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Anthropic Close Anthropic Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Anthropic
Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Business Close Business Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Business
Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Law Close Law Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Law
Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
News Close News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All News
Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Policy Close Policy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Policy
Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Politics Close Politics Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. Follow Follow See All Politics
Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
More in: AI vs. the Pentagon: killer robots, mass surveillance, and red lines
Apple is going high-end with new ‘Ultra’ products next
Sony appears to be testing dynamic pricing on Play Station games
A bite-sized adventure that puts a wrench into the classic Zelda formula
Key Takeaways
- Tech Expand Amazon Apple Facebook Google Microsoft Samsung Business See all tech
- Reviews Expand Smart Home Reviews Phone Reviews Tablet Reviews Headphone Reviews See all reviews
- Science Expand Space Energy Environment Health See all science
- Entertainment Expand TV Shows Movies Audio See all entertainment
- Policy Expand Antitrust Politics Law Security See all policy
