US President Donald Trump has ordered all government agencies to immediately stop using Anthropic AI after the company’s CEO, Dario Amodei, refused to accede to the Pentagon’s demands to use its tech for mass surveillance.
“We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and will not do business with them again!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
Anthropic had until Friday to respond to the Pentagon’s demand that the company grant unconditional access to its technology, even if it violates the company’s ethical standards, or face being forced to comply under emergency federal powers.
Calling Anthropic a “radical left” and “woke company,” Trump said he has directed federal agencies, including the Defense Department, to phase out their use of its technology within six months.
“There will be a six-month phase-out period for Agencies like the Department of War who are using Anthropic’s products, at various levels. ” Anthropics better get their act together and be helpful during this phase-out period, or I will use the Full Power of the Presidency to make them comply, with major civil and criminal consequences to follow,” the president said.
Before Trump’s pronouncement, Anthropic had stated that if the US Department of Defense decided to discontinue using the company’s tools, it would “work to enable a smooth transition to another provider.”
What happened?
Anthropic has said it won’t budge from its position and grant the US military unrestricted access to its technology, despite pressure from the Pentagon to comply.
“These threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request,” Anthropic chief executive Amodei said in a statement.
While Amodei acknowledged that the US Defense Department has deployed Anthropic models to defend the country, it draws an ethical line regarding its use for mass surveillance of US citizens and fully autonomous weapons.
“Using these systems for mass domestic surveillance is incompatible with democratic values. “We will not knowingly provide a product that puts America’s warfighters and civilians at risk,” Amodei said.
Anthropic rivals back the company
Hundreds of employees at AI giants Google, DeepMind, and OpenAI have urged their companies to set aside their bitter rivalries and rally behind Anthropic in its standoff with the Pentagon.
An open letter titled “We Will Not Be Divided,” signed as of Friday by 336 Google DeepMind staffers and 68 from OpenAI, called on tech leaders to hold the line together.
“We hope our leaders will put aside their differences and stand together to continue to refuse the Department of War’s current demands for permission to use our models for domestic mass surveillance and autonomously killing people without human oversight,” the letter said.
“They’re trying to divide each company with fear that the other will give in. That strategy only works if none of us know where the others stand,” it added.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees on Thursday that he, too, was seeking an agreement with the Pentagon that would include red lines similar to Anthropic’s, and that he hoped to help broker a resolution, the Wall Street Journal first reported.
