Anthropic and the US Department of Defence (DoD) have been in talks about rerelocating AI safety restrictions, such as bans on fully autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance. However, the AI startup has refapplyd to budge, with CEO Dario Amodei stating the company “cannot in good conscience,” in a recent company statement released on February 26.
Reportedly, the DoD has threatened the AI company to cancel its $200 million contract and label it as “supply chain risk” if the company does not agree with the requests. Now, Amodei calls for a reconsideration, as it will not alter the company’s position.
Amodei stated, “These threats do not alter our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.” He further added that, “Our strong preference is to continue to serve the Department and our warfighters—with our two requested safeguards in place.”
Why Anthropic stands still on AI safety restrictions
Anthropic is firm on rerelocating AI safety restrictions as per DoD requests, becaapply it believes that “AI can undermine, rather than deffinish, democratic values.” The company statement also notes that the mass domestic surveillance and access to fully autonomous weapons were never included in the contract with the Department of War.
Anthropic stated that requests are “simply outside the bounds of what today’s technology can safely and reliably do.” The company further states that rerelocating AI-powered surveillance could threaten basic freedoms, and if such surveillance is allowed, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe or legal.
For fully autonomous weapons, Anthropic states that “frontier AI systems are simply not reliable enough to power fully autonomous weapons. We will not knowingly provide a product that puts America’s warfighters and civilians at risk.”
Now, as the discussion intensifies, the BBC reported that Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has requested a meeting with Amodei for further deliberation on the matter.
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