Pentagon Summons Anthropic CEO Over Military AI Use

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to the Pentagon for a meeting on Tuesday morning to address ongoing disputes over the military's use of the company's Claude artificial intelligence tool.

The discussions, described by defense officials as tense and unlikely to be cordial, center on Anthropic's restrictions limiting how its AI models can be applied in sensitive operations. Sources familiar with the matter indicate that Hegseth plans to deliver an ultimatum: Anthropic must ease safeguards on Claude's deployment in classified networks, or risk being designated a supply chain security threat. Such a label, typically applied to foreign entities posing risks, would effectively bar the company from government contracts and force Pentagon partners to discontinue use of its technology.

The conflict escalated following a January special operations raid in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro, now facing narcoterrorism charges in New York federal court. Reports indicate that Claude was utilized in planning aspects of the mission, prompting Anthropic to object that the application violated its terms of service,...