Last year, Anthropic was among the artificial intelligence (AI) companies that received a $200 million contract from the Pentagon for military purposes. But according to a Reuters report, relations between the Pentagon and Anthropic are now strained after the company blocked the use of its AI for autonomous weapon targeting and domestic surveillance systems.
The Pentagon reportedly insisted that they had the right to use commercial technology according to military needs, without being bound by Anthropic's original use policy, which still complies with US law. Anthropic, on the other hand, is concerned that its technology could be used to spy on Americans or help target weapons without human supervision.
As a result of this disagreement, contract talks between the Pentagon and Anthropic have stalled. So far, Google and xAI are two companies that have been extended contracts by the US Department of War (DoW) to use their AI models under the GenAI.mil initiative. Through this initiative, AI will be used to perform tasks more efficiently and be ready for war in line with the AI Action Plan announced by the White House.
