The Anthropic commander stands firm as the Pentagon’s doomsday approaches

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei he said on Thursday that he “cannot in good conscience accept (the Pentagon’s) request” to give the military access to its AI systems.

“Anthropic understands that the Department of War, not private companies, makes military decisions,” Amodei wrote in a statement. “However, in limited cases, we believe that AI can undermine, rather than protect, democratic principles. Some of its uses are also outside the limits of what modern technology can do safely and reliably.”

The two cases are: surveillance of Americans and autonomous weapons. Pentagon they believe must use the Anthropic model for all legal purposes, and that its use must not be controlled by a private company.

Amodei’s statement comes less than 24 hours later on Friday at 5:01 PM deadline Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given Anthropic the option to accept the proposal, or face the consequences. The Department of Defense said tried to force Amodii’s hand by naming Anthropic the threat of supply chain – a name reserved for foreign enemies – or invoking the Defense Production Act and forcing the company to do what they want.

Amodei expressed opposition to these two threats. Someone tells us it’s a security risk; some say Claude is important to national security.

He added that it is the department’s prerogative to choose the contractors that best fit its vision, “but based on the benefits that Anthropic technology provides to our military, we are confident that they will resume.”

Anthropic is currently the only AI lab with military-ready equipment, although the DOD says it is preparing xAI for the job.

“Our priority is to continue to serve the department and our veterans — it’s our security that we asked for,” Amodei said. “If the department decides to move away from Anthropic, we will do our best to make the transition to another provider, to avoid disrupting the military’s strategic, operational, or other critical operations.”

TLDR, he says: ‘We might just break up. There is no reason to be cruel.’