On X, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s criticism, saying “Cloaked in the sanctimonious rhetoric of ‘effective altruism,’ [Anthropic and CEO Dario Amodei] have attempted to strong-arm the United States military into submission – a cowardly act of corporate virtue-signaling that places Silicon Valley ideology above American lives.” He added, “Their true objective is unmistakable: to seize veto power over the operational decisions of the United States military. That is unacceptable.”
A six-month clock and a scramble to replace Claude
Under the plan, according to Axios, the Defense Department would sever a contract, worth up to $200 million, with Anthropic, and require defense contractors and other vendors to certify they are not using Anthropic’s Claude model in work tied to the Pentagon. The administration is allowing a six-month window to give agencies and contractors time to transition to alternatives.
That transition could be particularly disruptive, because Claude has been used in the military’s classified systems, systems that support some of the Pentagon’s most sensitive intelligence work, weapons development, and operational planning.
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