Google has agreed to give the U.S. Department of Defense access to its AI tools on classified networks, broadly permitting all lawful uses. The deal places Google alongside OpenAI and xAI, both of which signed similar agreements with the Pentagon earlier this year.
The move comes amid an ongoing legal dispute between the DoD and Anthropic, which refused equivalent terms over concerns about domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. The Pentagon responded by labeling Anthropic a supply-chain risk, though a judge recently granted the AI company an injunction while the case proceeds.
Google’s agreement includes non-binding language discouraging those same use cases, though enforceability remains unclear. The deal was struck despite nearly 950 Google employees publicly urging the company to adopt Anthropic’s position.
