Pentagon Sets Deadline for Anthropic to Ease AI Restrictions Amid Military Use Dispute

The U.S. Department of Defense, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has given AI company Anthropic a Friday deadline to remove safeguards restricting military use of its Claude AI, including prohibitions on autonomous weapons targeting and domestic surveillance. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has maintained ethical concerns and refused to ease these restrictions. The Pentagon warned it may label Anthropic a supply chain risk or invoke the Defense Production Act to compel compliance. Defense contractors like Boeing and Lockheed Martin have been asked to assess their reliance on Anthropic amid ongoing negotiations. Meanwhile, Anthropic recently revised its AI safety policies to prioritize competitiveness amid rapid industry advances and regulatory uncertainty.