How talks between Anthropic and the US Defense Department fell apart
Anthropic said it would challenge what it called a legally unsound action “never before publicly applied to an American company”
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Anthropic said it would challenge what it called a legally unsound action “never before publicly applied to an American company”

The US Defense Department has given AI firm Anthropic a deadline to ease usage restrictions on its models, threatening a $200 million contract loss. Anthropic, citing concerns over autonomous weapons and surveillance, has resisted. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang acknowledged both sides have valid points, suggesting the dispute, while significant, isn't catastrophic for either party.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman defended the company's deal with the Department of War, highlighting stronger safety guardrails than those Anthropic refused. Altman stated their agreement prohibits mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons, aiming to foster government-AI lab collaboration. Despite public backlash and support for Anthropic, OpenAI maintains control over its safety protocols.

“Tonight, we reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy our models in their classified network,” Sam Altman said in a statement.