Anthropic’s brinkmanship with the Pentagon over broad military AI use

Anthropic is in a high-stakes clash with the Pentagon over an “any lawful use” clause that could authorize DoD deployment of Claude for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. A threat to label Anthropic a “supply chain risk” could end its DoD contract and force military contractors to drop its tech, reshaping defense AI. Negotiations, led by DoD CTO Emil Michael, center on DoD’s push for speed and expansive usage versus Anthropic’s red lines—no autonomous weapons or broad domestic surveillance—while other AI firms renegotiated contracts. If DoD moves against Anthropic, Claude’s unique status on classified networks could leave the Pentagon exposed to single-source risk.