The U.S. Department of Defense has called Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to the Pentagon for discussions regarding the military deployment of the company’s Claude artificial intelligence system, escalating tensions between the government and the AI developer. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly considering designating Anthropic a supply chain risk after the firm declined to support uses involving mass surveillance of Americans or fully autonomous weapons.
Anthropic previously secured a $200 million defense contract, and Claude has reportedly been used in operational contexts, intensifying scrutiny over acceptable boundaries for military AI. A supply chain risk designation could void the contract and compel other defense partners to discontinue use of the technology.
The meeting underscores growing friction between AI companies and government agencies over ethical limits, national security priorities, and control of advanced AI systems in defense environments.
