<\/p>\n
Donald Trump<\/a> said Friday he will direct all federal agencies to \u201cIMMEDIATELY CEASE\u201d all use of Anthropic technology.<\/p>\n The Department of Defense and Anthropic hit an impasse with neither side backing down as a deadline for an agreement lapsed on Friday afternoon. The Pentagon had demanded the artificial intelligence company loosen ethical guidelines on its AI systems or face severe consequences.<\/p>\n Trump weighed in just an hour before the deadline, saying<\/a> on Truth Social: \u201cThe Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWE will decide the fate of our Country \u2013 NOT some out-of-control, Radical Left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real World is all about,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n Shortly after the deadline passed, defense secretary Pete Hegseth said he was directing his department to classify Anthropic as a supply-chain risk to national security, claiming Anthropic\u2019s \u201cstance is fundamentally incompatible with American principles\u201d. This type of designation is normally used for foreign adversaries and could endanger the company\u2019s partnerships with other businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cEffective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic,\u201d Hegseth wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cAmerica\u2019s warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech.\u201d<\/p>\n Hegseth said the Pentagon, which had a $200m, two-year agreement<\/a> with Anthropic, will continue to use Anthropic\u2019s AI services for a transition period of no more than six months.The government services administration followed<\/a> Hegseth\u2019s lead and said Friday evening that it too had terminated its contracts with Anthropic.<\/p>\n Despite the force of the federal government coming down on Anthropic, it\u2019s still possible that the AI firm and the Pentagon could reach some sort of agreement. It\u2019s also possible that other AI companies could take over Anthropic\u2019s contracts.<\/p>\n Anthropic did not return the Guardian\u2019s request for comment regarding Friday\u2019s developments.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei said in a statement<\/a> his company \u201ccannot in good conscience accede\u201d to the Pentagon\u2019s demand for unrestricted use of its AI tools.<\/p>\n The public showdown began earlier this week when the Department of Defense and Anthropic entered into discussions about the military\u2019s use of the company\u2019s Claude AI system.<\/em> But the talks broke down as both sides appeared to be unable to come to agreement over safety guardrails.<\/p>\n Anthropic, which presents itself as the most safety-forward<\/a> of the leading AI companies, has been mired in months of disagreement with the Pentagon even before the public discussions began this week. US defense officials have pushed for unfettered access to Claude\u2019s capabilities that they say can help protect the country, while Anthropic has resisted<\/a> allowing its product to be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons systems that can kill people without human input.<\/p>\n \u201cAnthropic understands that the Department of War, not private companies, makes military decisions. We have never raised objections to particular military operations nor attempted to limit use of our technology in an ad hoc manner,\u201d Amodei said Thursday. \u201cHowever, in a narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values.\u201d<\/p>\n Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Thursday the defense department \u201chas no interest\u201d in using AI for mass surveillance or to develop autonomous weapons. \u201cThis narrative is fake and being peddled by leftists in the media,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In Silicon Valley, Anthropic has drawn support from its most fierce rivals. Top executives at AI companies have publicly sided with Anthropic, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman who indicated in a CNBC interview<\/a> on Friday that OpenAI shares the same red lines as Anthropic.<\/p>\n