Statement on the comments from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth

Anthropic is facing an unprecedented supply chain risk designation from the US Department of War (DoW) after refusing to allow its Claude AI model to be used for mass domestic surveillance or in fully autonomous weapons systems. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the move following months of failed negotiations, marking what Anthropic calls a historic first—applying a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries to an American company. The AI firm, which has supported US warfighters in classified networks since June 2024, maintains its position is based on the unreliability of current frontier models for autonomous weapons and the violation of fundamental rights posed by mass surveillance.

Anthropic states the designation would legally only apply to the use of Claude within specific DoW contracts under 10 USC 3252, not affecting commercial customers, individual users, or contractors' work for other clients. The company plans to challenge the action in court, arguing it sets a dangerous precedent for government negotiations with private firms. This clash highlights the growing tension between AI developers' ethical guardrails and national security demands, with Anthropic prioritizing its Responsible Scaling Policy over potential government intimidation. The outcome could significantly influence how other AI companies, like OpenAI and Google, negotiate terms for military and surveillance applications of their models.