Exclusive: Pentagon threatens to cut off Anthropic in AI safeguards dispute

[highplainsdem]

Source: Axios

The Pentagon is considering severing its relationship with Anthropic over the AI firm's insistence on maintaining some limitations on how the military uses its models, a senior administration official told Axios.

Why it matters: The Pentagon is pushing four leading AI labs to let the military use their tools for "all lawful purposes," even in the most sensitive areas of weapons development, intelligence collection, and battlefield operations. Anthropic has not agreed to those terms, and the Pentagon is getting fed up after months of difficult negotiations.

Anthropic insists that two areas remain off limits: the mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weaponry.

The big picture: The senior administration official argued there is considerable gray area around what would and wouldn't fall into those categories, and that it's unworkable for the Pentagon to have to negotiate individual use-cases with Anthropic — or have Claude unexpectedly block certain applications.

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Read more: https://www.axios.com/2026/02/15/claude-pentagon-anthropic-contract-maduro

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And if THAT doesn't tell you why the Trump regime is so cozy with AI companies - and how foolish it is to use genAI voluntarily (a key part of that surveillance will be every single thing you're foolish enough to tell AI) - I don't know what will.

[James48]

1. We have about two years.

Maybe three, if we are lucky, before there is a major incident where automatic robots begin killing humans in large numbers.

It’s no longer science fiction. It’s about to become self-aware. Once you have robots building and programming robots, it’s going to be over for humans.

[Polybius]

6. You think AGI is that close?

Only then will they be truly self-aware.

[Miguelito Loveless]

2. Damn the Pentagon is seriously stupid

Also, “lawful” is very subjective.

[Renew Deal]

3. Anthropic doesn't need the Pentagon

[groundloop]

4. use their tools for "all lawful purposes," plus a few which aren't

Gee, what could possibly go wrong when AI is allowed to start firing missiles?

[Renew Deal]

5. All lawful purposes is pretty much anything for the military.

And pretty close to that for law enforcement.