Pentagon Stops Using Anthropic AI Tools After Blacklisting Company (BBC News)
The US Department of Defence has ceased using Anthropic's AI tools, an official has confirmed to the BBC, months after designating the company a supply chain risk on national security grounds.
Background
- In February, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth labelled Anthropic a supply chain risk.
- The Pentagon aimed to stop using Anthropic by late August.
- However, as recently as last week, Anthropic's Claude model was still in use by the department for research, analysis, intelligence gathering, and military operations against Iran.
Reasons Unclear
It is unclear why the defence department has stopped using Anthropic's tools now. The details of the complete severance have not been previously reported.
Anthropic's Role
Anthropic had been used by the US government and military since 2024, becoming the first advanced AI company to deploy its tools in classified work within government agencies.
Conflict and Designations
Earlier this year, the Pentagon requested Anthropic remove safety guardrails from Claude, granting them unfettered access to their AI tools. When Anthropic refused, citing concerns about mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, Hegseth designated the company a "national security supply-chain risk."
Anthropic challenged this designation as "unprecedented and unlawful" in court but has continued its legal fight.
Alternatives
While this legal dispute unfolds, the Pentagon has signed contracts with other tech giants like Google, xAI, and OpenAI, with OpenAI tools becoming more prevalent in some military departments recently.
Integration and Removal Difficulties
Anthropic's Claude was deeply integrated into the Pentagon's primary data organisation platform, Maven Smart System, operated by Palantir, making its complete removal from the system challenging.