The standoff between AI company Anthropic and the US Department of Defense may be far from over, despite recent signs that relations between the two sides could be improving. A senior US defense official has said that the company behind the popular AI chatbot Claude is ‘still considered a “Supply Chain Risk’ by the Pentagon and the US defense industry.
Emil Michael, the US under secretary of defense for research and engineering, made the comments on X. “Anthropic is still a designated Supply Chain Risk at @DeptofWar and for the Defense Industrial Base. Thank you for your attention to this matter.” he wrote.
His statement came just a day after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested that relations with Anthropic had improved. Lutnick had told Axios that Anthropic was back on the right side and said “we trust Anthropic.” However, Michael’s comment shows that the dispute between Anthropic and the Pentagon has not been fully resolved.
What Is The Anthropic-Pentagon Dispute?
The conflict began after the Pentagon moved against the ChatGPT rival over disagreements related to how its AI technology could be used by the US military.
The Dario Amodei-led AI startup has placed limits on certain uses of its AI systems, including concerns around areas such as mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.
The Pentagon had taken steps that put Anthropic at risk of being treated as a supply-chain concern for the US defense sector.
However, a US federal judge ruled in favour of Anthropic on August 27, blocking the Pentagon’s action.
The judge said the Pentagon had “illegally punished Anthropic for criticising the government” and described the department’s decision as “illegal and baseless.”
Despite the court ruling and Lutnick’s more positive comments, the latest statement from Michael shows that the issue is still not completely settled. His remarks suggested that the Washington is still seeing Anthropic as a supply-chain risk.
