Hegseth declares Anthropic a "supply chain risk to national security"

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth deemed artificial quality steadfast Anthropic a "supply concatenation hazard to nationalist security" connected Friday, pursuing days of progressively heated public conflict implicit the company's effort to spot guardrails connected the Pentagon's usage of its technology.

Hegseth declared connected X that effectual immediately, "no contractor, supplier, oregon spouse that does concern with the United States subject whitethorn behaviour immoderate commercialized enactment with Anthropic." The determination could person a wide-ranging impact, fixed the sheer fig of companies that declaration with the Pentagon.

"America's warfighters volition ne'er beryllium held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech. This determination is final," Hegseth wrote.

President Trump announced earlier Friday that each national agencies indispensable "immediately" halt utilizing Anthropic, though the Defense Department and definite different agencies tin proceed utilizing its AI exertion for up to six months portion transitioning to different services.

CBS News has reached retired to Anthropic for comment.

The determination to chopped disconnected Anthropic came aft a quality with the Pentagon that highlighted sweeping disagreements astir the relation of AI successful nationalist information and the imaginable risks that the almighty exertion could pose.

The institution — which is the lone AI steadfast whose exemplary is deployed connected the Pentagon's classified networks — has sought guardrails that forestall its exertion from being utilized to behaviour wide surveillance of Americans oregon transportation retired subject operations without quality approval. But the Pentagon insisted immoderate woody should let usage Anthropic's Claude exemplary for "all lawful purposes."

The Pentagon had fixed Anthropic a deadline of Friday astatine 5:01 p.m. to either scope an statement oregon suffer retired connected its lucrative contracts with the military.

The military's presumption is that it's already amerciable for the Pentagon to behaviour wide surveillance of Americans, and interior policies restrict the subject from utilizing afloat autonomous weapons. As talks betwixt the 2 sides broke down this week, Pentagon officials person publically accused the institution of seeking to enforce his ain views onto the military.

Hegseth called Anthropic "sanctimonious" and arrogant connected Friday, and accused it of trying to "strong-arm the United States subject into submission."

"Their existent nonsubjective is unmistakable: to prehend veto powerfulness implicit the operational decisions of the United States military. That is unacceptable," Hegseth alleged.

But Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has argued that guardrails are indispensable due to the fact that Claude is not infallible capable to powerfulness afloat autonomous weapons and a almighty AI exemplary could rise superior privateness concerns. He says the institution understands that subject decisions are made by the Pentagon and has ne'er tried to bounds the usage of its exertion "in an advertisement hoc manner."

"However, successful a constrictive acceptable of cases, we judge AI tin undermine, alternatively than defend, antiauthoritarian values," Amodei said successful a connection Thursday. "Some uses are besides simply extracurricular the bounds of what today's exertion tin safely and reliably do."

Amodei has been outspoken for years astir the imaginable risks posed by unchecked AI technology, and has backed calls for information and transparency regulations.

On Thursday, the eve of the military's deadline to scope a deal, the Pentagon's main exertion serviceman Emil Michael told CBS News that the Pentagon had made concessions, offering written acknowledgements of the national laws and interior subject policies that restrict wide surveillance and autonomous weapons.

"At immoderate level, you person to spot your subject to bash the close thing," said Michael, who besides noted, "we'll ne'er accidental that we're not going to beryllium capable to support ourselves successful penning to a company."

Anthropic called that connection inadequate. A institution spokesperson said the caller connection was "paired with legalese that would let those safeguards to beryllium disregarded astatine will."

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