OpenAI’s CEO claims its new defense contract includes protections addressing the same issues that became a flashpoint for Anthropic.
Anthropic and the Pentagon are clashing over AI use in autonomous weapons and surveillance, raising high-stakes questions about national security, corporate control, and who sets the rules for military AI.
While Anthropic has an existing partnership with the Pentagon, the AI company has remained firm that its technology not be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weaponry.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said Thursday that he “cannot in good conscience accede” to the Pentagon’s demands to give the military unrestricted access to its AI systems.
The Pentagon has given Anthropic until Friday to loosen AI guardrails or face potential penalties, escalating a high-stakes dispute that raises questions about government leverage, vendor dependence, and investor confidence in defense tech.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to the Pentagon for a tense discussion over the military’s use of Claude. Hegseth has threatened to designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk.”
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi prompted speakers at the event to join hands and raise them in a show of unity, all executives on stage obliged, except OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, who held their hands conspicuously apart.
Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Sam Altman spoke out against ICE enforcement tactics following Minneapolis violence, with one addressing concerns publicly and the other in an internal message.
There were times at this week’s meeting of the World Economic Forum when Davos seemed transformed into a high-powered tech conference.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei unloaded on both the administration and U.S. chip companies over plans to sell to China. The criticism was particularly notable because one of those chipmakers, Nvidia, is a major partner and investor in Anthropic.