Anthropic cannot accede to Pentagon's request in AI safeguards dispute, CEO says

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Anthropic cannot accede to the Pentagon's request in an AI safeguards dispute despite threats to remove the company from the Department of Defense's systems, the AI firm's CEO, Dario Amodei, said on Thursday.

The Pentagon's dispute with Anthropic stems from the AI startup's refusal to remove safeguards that would prevent its technology from being used to target weapons autonomously and conduct surveillance in the United States.

Anthropic, backed by Google and Amazon, has a contract with the department worth up to $200 million.

The department has said it will contract only with AI companies that accede to "any lawful use" and remove safeguards, Amodei said on Thursday.

Use cases for its AI such as mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons have never been included in Anthropic's contracts with the department and "we believe they should not be included now," Amodei said.

Amodei added that the department threatened to remove Anthropic from its systems if the company maintained the safeguards and threatened to designate it a "supply chain risk and to invoke the Defense Production Act to force the safeguards' removal".

"Regardless, these threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request," Amodei said.

Earlier in the day, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on X that the department has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans nor does it want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement.

"Here's what we're asking: Allow the Pentagon to use Anthropic's model for all lawful purposes," Parnell said.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Anthropic's statement.

"It is the Department's prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision. But given the substantial value that Anthropic's technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider," Amodei said.

"Should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider," he added.

An Anthropic spokesperson said the company remains "ready to continue talks and committed to operational continuity for the Department and America's warfighters."