Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic declared that it cannot ethically comply with the Pentagon’s call for unlimited access to its technology, intensifying a dispute with the Trump administration that could lead to the termination of its military contract and other penalties.
CEO Dario Amodei stated that while the company remains open to talks, recent contract proposals from the Defense Department showed little progress toward barring the use of its Claude AI for widespread surveillance of U.S. citizens or toward fully independent lethal systems.
“These threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request,” Amodei said in a statement. He added that labeling Anthropic a security threat while deeming its AI vital to defense is “inherently contradictory.”
The standoff stems from a Tuesday meeting where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanded that Anthropic permit unrestricted application of its models by Friday, or face potential designation as a supply chain risk — a tag usually applied to firms from adversarial nations — or compulsion under the Defense Production Act, a Cold War measure for national security priorities.
Pentagon Chief Spokesman Sean Parnell affirmed on social media that the military seeks deployment “for all lawful purposes” without risking key missions. “We will not let ANY company dictate the terms regarding how we make operational decisions,” he added.
The Department of War has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal) nor do we want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement. This narrative is fake and being peddled by leftists in the media.… https://t.co/3pjWZ66aXz
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) February 26, 2026
Parnell clarified the department has “no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal) nor do we want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement.”
Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Emil Michael accused Amodei on X of having a “God-complex” and seeking to “personally control the US Military” at the expense of national safety, calling him a “liar.”
It’s a shame that @DarioAmodei is a liar and has a God-complex. He wants nothing more than to try to personally control the US Military and is ok putting our nation’s safety at risk.
The @DeptofWar will ALWAYS adhere to the law but not bend to whims of any one for-profit tech… https://t.co/ZfwXG36Wvl
— Under Secretary of War Emil Michael (@USWREMichael) February 27, 2026
Anthropic, which inked a $200 million deal with the Pentagon last July to embed its AI in classified operations, is the sole holdout among major providers; the military also employs models from Google, OpenAI, and Elon Musk’s xAI on an internal network.
Amodei noted the firm’s preference to sustain the partnership, given its contributions to the armed forces. “It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision,” he said. “But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider.”
If ousted, Anthropic pledges a seamless handover to a replacement to avoid interrupting military activities.
“In a narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values,” Amodei explained. “Some uses are also simply outside the bounds of what today’s technology can safely and reliably do.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told CNBC he opposes threatening companies with the Defense Production Act, trusting in Anthropic’s safety commitment despite differences.
“For all the differences I have with Anthropic, I mostly trust them as a company, and I think they really do care about safety, and I’ve been happy that they’ve been supporting our war fighters,” Altman said in an interview, per CNBC. “I’m not sure where this is going to go.”
Over 330 Google and OpenAI staff signed an open letter, “We Will Not Be Divided,” urging unity against demands for models enabling “domestic mass surveillance and autonomously killing people without human oversight.”
The friction aligns with broader tensions; White House AI Czar David Sacks has criticized Anthropic for “woke AI” and regulatory tactics. Amodei skipped Trump’s inauguration, unlike peers such as Altman, Tim Cook, and Sundar Pichai.
Hegseth’s January memo, “Accelerating America’s Military AI Dominance,” rejected ideologically tuned models or restrictions on legal military uses.
OpenAI’s Josh McGrath posted on X that he is “at a loss for words about what’s happening.”
