U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened artificial intelligence company Anthropic, saying that if the company does not agree to terms favorable to the military by Friday, officials may invoke relevant powers to force the artificial intelligence company to share its innovative technology on national security grounds. People familiar with the matter disclosed ongoing negotiations.
However, Anthropic is prepared to withdraw from negotiations — and the $200 million contract with the Department of Defense — if concerns about its technology being used for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance are not resolved, people familiar with the matter said.
The Pentagon argued that its proposal did not include any illegal use of Anthropic technology. A senior Defense Department official said in a statement that if the company fails to comply by 5:01 p.m. Friday, Hegseth "will ensure that the Defense Production Act is initiated against Anthropic, forcing them to serve the Pentagon whether they want to or not."
"This has nothing to do with the use of mass surveillance or autonomous weapons," the defense official said.
Anthropic is the first company to integrate its technology into the Pentagon's classified network and is actively planning to become a key player in the U.S. national security field. In a meeting with Hegseth on Tuesday, company co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei took a firm stance, saying its artificial intelligence model Claude should not be used to power autonomous weapons or conduct mass surveillance of Americans, people familiar with the matter said.
Relations between the two sides have been strained in recent weeks over disputes over how Anthropic's artificial intelligence technology was used in an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Defense officials quickly responded by saying that if Anthropic did not allow the Pentagon to use the AI as it wished within legal limits, the company would be considered a supply chain risk, which could cost it and any companies that subcontract its AI technology future business opportunities.
However, experts familiar with the Defense Production Act question whether the law can be used to force Anthropic to abandon restrictions it has set on how the technology can be used.
“I’m not sure that’s how the relevant provisions of the bill are typically used, or if they’ve ever been used,” said Jerry McGinn, director of industrial base affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Despite the serious but respectful tone of the meeting, Hegseth also praised Anthropic's technology, according to a person familiar with the matter. The minister said he hoped to continue working with the company but threatened to cancel the contract by the end of the week. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private.