Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei at the Pentagon on Tuesday morning to address the military applications of the company's AI model, Claude, according to reports from Axios.
This critical meeting takes place amidst escalating tensions, as the Pentagon has threatened to label Anthropic a “supply chain risk”—a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries. This threat stems from the AI firm's refusal to permit the Department of Defense to deploy its technology for the extensive surveillance of American citizens or for the development of fully autonomous weapons systems.
The relationship between the two entities, which includes a $200 million contract signed last summer, has become notably strained following the reported use of Claude during a special operations raid on January 3. This operation, which led to the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, brought the underlying disagreements between Anthropic and the DOD into public view.
An Axios source indicates that Secretary Hegseth plans to issue an ultimatum to Amodei: either cooperate or face ostracization. While the sincerity of this threat is uncertain, given the significant challenge of replacing Anthropic, the potential repercussions are substantial. A "supply chain risk" classification would invalidate Anthropic's existing contract and compel other Pentagon collaborators to cease all use of Claude.
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