Defense Secretary Hegseth is meeting with Anthropic CEO Amodei about Pentagon tensions over Claude AI’s military use and a risky $200M contract.
Washington: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to talk with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about using Claude AI for military work. They will meet Tuesday morning at the Pentagon. The meeting is important because the Department of Defense may call Anthropic a security risk.
The Pentagon gave a big contract worth $200 million to Anthropic last summer. Claude AI helped during a special army mission in January that caught Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. But now there is a problem. Anthropic said no to some military requests. They do not want their AI used to watch many Americans or to make weapons that shoot without people controlling them.
A source told reporters that Hegseth gave Amodei a choice. They must agree to military use or lose their place as a Pentagon partner. This would be hard because finding a new company would take much work. If the Pentagon says Anthropic is a security risk, their contract ends. Other military groups would also have to stop using Claude AI. The meeting will decide what happens next between the Pentagon and Anthropic.