Anthropic has resisted allowing its Claude AI system to be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons systems – key US politics stories from Friday, 27 February at a glance
Donald Trump said Friday he will direct all federal agencies to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE” all use of artificial intelligence technology from Anthropic.
The US Department of Defense and Anthropic hit an impasse with neither side backing down as a deadline for an agreement lapsed on Friday afternoon. The Pentagon had demanded the AI company loosen ethical guidelines on its systems or face severe consequences.
US defense officials have for weeks been pushing for unfettered access to the company’s Claude AI system’s capabilities that they say can help protect the country, while Anthropic has resisted allowing its product to be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons systems that can kill people without human input.
“Anthropic understands that the Department of War, not private companies, makes military decisions. We have never raised objections to particular military operations nor attempted to limit use of our technology in an ad hoc manner,” Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei said in a statement this week. “However, in a narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values.”
