The Pentagon demands Anthropic drop AI usage restrictions for military applications by Friday or face forced compliance under emergency federal powers.

WASHINGTON: The US Defense Department has given artificial intelligence company Anthropic until Friday to agree to unrestricted military use of its technology.

Failure to comply will trigger enforcement under emergency federal powers, a senior official confirmed.

The ultimatum follows a meeting between Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon. The company stated Amodei “expressed appreciation for the Department’s work and thanked the Secretary for his service.”

A core conflict is Anthropic’s refusal to allow its Claude models to be used for mass surveillance of US citizens or in fully autonomous weapons systems.

“We continued good-faith conversations about our usage policy to ensure Anthropic can continue to support the government’s national security mission in line with what our models can reliably and responsibly do,” the company said.

The Pentagon delivered its stark demand after the meeting, setting a deadline of 5:01 pm Friday for agreement.

It threatened to force compliance under the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, a law last used during the Covid pandemic granting sweeping powers to compel private industry.

Officials also threatened to label Anthropic a supply chain risk, a designation typically reserved for firms from adversary countries that could severely damage its government business and reputation.

A senior Pentagon official pushed back on the company’s concerns, insisting the Defense Department always operates within the law.

“Legality is the Pentagon’s responsibility as the end user,” the official said, adding the department “has only given out lawful orders.”

Officials confirmed an exchange regarding intercontinental ballistic missiles had occurred, underscoring the sensitivity of the disputed applications.

The Pentagon confirmed Elon Musk’s Grok system was cleared for use in a classified setting.

Other contracted companies, OpenAI and Google, were described as close to similar clearances, piling competitive pressure on Anthropic.

Anthropic was contracted alongside those firms last year to supply AI models for military applications under a RM200 million agreement.

The company was founded by former OpenAI employees in 2021 on a premise of prioritising AI safety, a philosophy now putting it on a collision course with the Pentagon.

 The Sun Malaysia