Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over ‘Supply Chain Risk’ Designation

Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense in reaction to its Pentagon contract being severed and being labeled a supply chain risk by the Trump administration.The administration blacklisted Anthropic’s technology last month after the two clashed over AI safety. Anthropic wanted assurances its Claude AI systems would not be used for mass domestic surveillance of Americans or to run fully autonomous weapons. The Trump administration wanted unrestricted use by the military for any legal purpose.In Monday’s suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Anthropic said, “These actions are unprecedented and unlawful. The Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech. No federal statute authorizes the actions taken here.”The company is asking the court to declare the risk designation “arbitrary, capricious, and abuse of discretion, and contrary to law.”“Seeking judicial review does not change our longstanding commitment to harnessing AI to protect our national security, but this is a necessary step to protect our business, our customers, and our partners,” a representative for Anthropic said in an email. “We will continue to pursue every path toward resolution, including dialogue with the government.”Anthropic’s AI chatbot Claude is embedded in Pentagon systems and has been used since June 2024. The tools can be used for document summaries and controlling machines, including drones.The Defense Department will have six months to phase out Anthropic, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Anthropic’s court filing questioned how it could be designated a security risk but allow the technology’s use for months to come.Anthropic’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, has warned that the blacklisting will hurt the American military.“I’ve talked to people on the ground, uniformed military officers, who say, ‘This is essential. Not having this will set us back six months, 12 months, maybe longer,'” Mr. Amodie said.Mr. Amodei walked back a leaked memo he sent after the company was classified as a supply chain risk. The memo criticized President Trump, but Mr. Amodei called it a “casual” internal post to staff that “does not reflect my careful or considered views.”The Wall Street Journal reported that Anthropic’s systems were used in the recent operation targeting Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro. While the exact role Claude played remains unclear, the incident allegedly sparked internal questions at Anthropic.Anthropic has partnered with defense contractor Palantir to deliver AI capabilities on secure government systems. An Anthropic employee reportedly reached out to a counterpart at Palantir for more information on Claude’s use in the Venezuela operation.Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers. It signed a now-scrapped two-year $200 million contract with the Pentagon last summer. OpenAI quickly stepped in and inked a deal with the Department of Defense to replace Anthropic’s AI with its own. OpenAI agreed to more limited prohibitions on the Pentagon’s use of its technology.The Pentagon did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Anthropic Sues Pentagon Over ‘Supply Chain Risk’ Designation

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