Anthropic fought against the government’s misuse of its technology, but authorities are buying Americans’ data, enabling them to surveil citizens at scale
The FBI declares it can conduct mass surveillance without AI, despite Anthropic’s protest.
A central part of the standoff between Anthropic and the Department of Defense has revolved around the artificial intelligence firm’s refusal to allow its technology to be used for mass domestic surveillance. Yet even without the cooperation of AI firms, remarks this week from Kash Patel, FBI director, show how authorities are by any reasonable measure already operating a system that can surveil citizens at scale.
On Wednesday, Patel confirmed to a Senate intelligence committee hearing that the FBI is actively buying commercially available data on Americans. Patel’s answer, which was under oath, was in response to a question from senator Ron Wyden on whether the agency was purchasing location data on citizens, as it had previously admitted to doing in 2023.
As the debate around how the US federal government uses AI has come to the forefront in recent months, it has also brought renewed attention to how authorities already possess vast capabilities for tracking and surveilling the public. Patel’s admission underscores how the government is able to conduct mass surveillance despite its assurances to abide by lawful use of AI and fourth amendment protections against unreasonable searches, which prohibit the warrantless collection of individuals’ location histories.
