Trump Orders Pentagon to Phase Out Anthropic AI, Citing "Woke" Concerns
President demands six-month phase-out after Anthropic refused to allow Claude for autonomous weapons.
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social a six-month phase-out of Anthropic's AI technology from the Pentagon, calling the company 'Leftwing nut jobs' for refusing to let the military use Claude for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. The order came as negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense collapsed over legal language that Anthropic deemed too permissive. CEO Dario Amodei had argued that such uses 'can undermine democratic values' and exceed Claude's current safe capabilities.
Industry reaction was split. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly supported Anthropic, stating he trusts their safety focus. Dozens of employees from Google and OpenAI also signed letters backing Amodei's stance. However, the CIA views Elon Musk's Grok as an inferior alternative. Meanwhile, Anthropic recently softened its safety policy, citing competitors' reluctance to adopt similar constraints and the federal government's disinterest in prioritizing AI security. The government may still compel Anthropic via the Defense Production Act.
- Trump ordered a 6-month Pentagon phase-out of Anthropic's Claude AI after the company refused to allow use for mass surveillance or autonomous weapon systems.
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stated that some AI uses 'undermine democratic values' and exceed current technology's safe, reliable capabilities.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and employees from Google and OpenAI publicly supported Anthropic's safety stance, while CIA officials consider Elon Musk's Grok an inferior alternative.
Why It Matters
This clash between safety-first AI and government demands sets a precedent for military use of frontier models.