Anthropic vs Pentagon: Hegseth sets Friday deadline for Claude AI use

[00:00] Daniel Brooks: From Neural Newscast, I am Daniel Brooks. [00:03] Daniel Brooks: And I am Elise Moreau. [00:05] Daniel Brooks: It is Thursday, February 26th. [00:08] Daniel Brooks: The Pentagon is putting intense pressure on one of the most prominent AI startups in the country. [00:14] Daniel Brooks: Defense officials have issued a final offer to Anthropic regarding the military use of its Claude software. [00:23] Announcer: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants full access to the model by tomorrow evening. [00:29] Announcer: Today we will discuss the standoff over ethical guardrails and the threat of the Defense Production Act. [00:35] Daniel Brooks: The situation reached ahead yesterday, February 25th, when Pentagon officials sent their best and final offer to the company. [00:45] Daniel Brooks: It is a high-stakes moment for the $200 million contract signed last summer. [00:51] Elise Moreau: Secretary Hegseth met with Anthropic CEO Dario Amadeh earlier this week to deliver the ultimatum. [00:58] Elise Moreau: If the company does not grant all lawful use by Friday evening, they face the loss of all military business. [01:05] Daniel Brooks: The Pentagon is even threatening to label Anthropic a supply chain risk. [01:11] Daniel Brooks: That is essentially a government blacklist that would prevent them from working with any federal agency or partner in the future. [01:19] Elise Moreau: This is a striking shift in tone for a company that was the only AI firm cleared for classified systems until recently. [01:27] Elise Moreau: The government seems ready to sever a very deep technical relationship, Daniel. [01:32] Daniel Brooks: The root of the disagreement is about how much control the military has over the software's internal rules. [01:39] Daniel Brooks: Anthropic has built its reputation on being the most safety-forward firm in the industry. [01:46] Elise Moreau: Amadeh is particularly concerned about mass surveillance and the use of AI in autonomous [01:52] Elise Moreau: killing. [01:52] Elise Moreau: He has been pushing for guardrails that would keep human judgment in the loop for lethal [01:57] Elise Moreau: decisions. [01:58] Daniel Brooks: The administration has been dismissive of these concerns. [02:02] Daniel Brooks: Secretary Haigsef and other officials have labeled these safety measures as woke AI, suggesting [02:09] Daniel Brooks: they are simply ideological roadblocks. [02:13] Elise Moreau: The design of Claude is fundamentally built around these safety principles. [02:18] Elise Moreau: If Anthropic agrees to remove them, it would change the architecture and the cultural identity [02:23] Elise Moreau: of the product, Daniel. [02:25] Daniel Brooks: Defense officials argue they are not asking for anything illegal. [02:29] Daniel Brooks: They say they simply want a license to use the technology for all activities that are lawful under U.S. statutes. [02:38] Elise Moreau: That is the exact language that competitors like OpenAI and Google have reportedly agreed to. [02:44] Elise Moreau: Even Elon Musk's XAI chatbot was approved for classified use this past Monday after accepting those terms. [02:51] Daniel Brooks: It leaves entropic as the lone holdout among the major players, Elise. [02:56] Daniel Brooks: They're stuck between their ethical mission and the reality of doing business with the world's largest defense spender. [03:02] Elise Moreau: There is also the looming threat of the Defense Production Act. [03:07] Elise Moreau: This is a Korean War-era law that allows the president to force companies to prioritize government needs during national emergencies. [03:15] Daniel Brooks: Invoking that act would be a major escalation. [03:19] Daniel Brooks: It would essentially allow the military to seize control of the software and use it regardless of what the company's leadership thinks. [03:27] Elise Moreau: It creates a difficult dilemma for a company planning to go public this year. [03:32] Elise Moreau: Investors usually like government contracts, but they also value the unique safety brand Anthropic has built, Daniel. [03:40] Daniel Brooks: Amadei has noted that revenue has actually grown while they have taken this stand. [03:45] Daniel Brooks: But the pressure from the Pentagon is much more direct than any previous administration's requests. [03:52] Elise Moreau: We have seen similar ethical debates in architecture when firms refuse to design prisons or border walls. [03:59] Elise Moreau: This feels like a digital version of that conscientious objection. [04:03] Daniel Brooks: Still, the Pentagon is focused on what they call the global AI arms race. [04:09] Daniel Brooks: From their perspective, any guardrail that slows down a mission is a tactical disadvantage. [04:15] Elise Moreau: We will see if a middle ground exists before the deadline tomorrow, February 27th. [04:21] Elise Moreau: If not, the relationship between the Pentagon and one of its top AI partners could dissolve entirely by the weekend. [04:28] Daniel Brooks: The implications for the broader industry are significant. [04:32] Daniel Brooks: If the government can force an AI company to strip its safety features, it sets a massive precedent for every other firm in Silicon Valley. [04:41] Elise Moreau: It is a question of who really owns the soul of a machine once it is sold to the state. [04:46] Elise Moreau: We will be watching for Anthropics' response as that Friday deadline approaches. [04:51] Elise Moreau: I am Daniel Brooks. [04:53] Daniel Brooks: And I am Elise Moreau. [04:55] Daniel Brooks: For more coverage, visit us online. 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