Pentagon close to designating Anthropic a ‘supply chain risk’ over AI safeguards: Axios
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The news: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is “close” to designating the AI company a “supply chain risk” and cancelling the Department of War’s (DoW) USD200 million ($282.20 million) contract with the Claude model maker, according to sources cited by Axios.
The context: While Anthropic’s Claude AI model is the only model currently being used in the US military classified systems, the Pentagon and Anthropic have been in contentious discussions for months over the terms under which the DoW can use Claude.
Anthropic wants to ensure that its tools are not used to surveil Americans or to develop weapons that fire without human involvement, while the DoW argues the terms are unduly restrictive. In negotiations with Anthropic and other AI labs including OpenAI, Google and Xai, Pentagon officials are insisting that the military is able to use their tools for “all lawful purposes”, Axios reports.
Should the Pentagon designate Anthropic a supply chain risk, a penalty typically reserved for foreign adversaries, anyone who wants to do business with the US military would have to cut ties with the company, a senior Pentagon official told the masthead.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told Axios: "The Department of War's relationship with Anthropic is being reviewed. Our nation requires that our partners be willing to help our warfighters win in any fight. Ultimately, this is about our troops and the safety of the American people."
An Anthropic spokesperson told the masthead: "We are having productive conversations, in good faith, with DoW on how to continue that work and get these new and complex issues right."
The source: Axios
