Pentagon Bans Anthropic, Inks Deal with OpenAI
The Trump administration has ordered all federal agencies and military contractors to stop using AI from Anthropic, which the Pentagon labeled a "supply risk." Just hours after the ban was announced, OpenAI struck a deal with the Pentagon to provide its advanced AI systems for defense and security operations. The move effectively positions OpenAI as the U.S. government's primary high-end AI provider.
The standoff escalated after Anthropic refused to give the Pentagon unrestricted access to its AI models, specifically for use in mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the American company a "supply chain risk," a label historically reserved for foreign adversaries like China's Huawei, and gave them a deadline to comply or lose their government contracts. President Trump stated the U.S. will “NEVER ALLOW A RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY TO DICTATE HOW OUR GREAT MILITARY FIGHTS AND WINS WARS” in a Truth Social post regarding the ban. Federal agencies now have a six-month window to phase out their use of Anthropic's technology. Anthropic, whose AI is used by the CIA and NSA for intelligence analysis, has announced it will challenge the "legally unsound" designation in court. The ban on Anthropic, which was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees with a focus on AI safety, came just after the company amended its core safety pledge. The original policy committed to pausing the development of new models if safety measures couldn't keep pace, a stance the company's leadership now feels is an unnecessary hindrance in a competitive market. Hours after the ban, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman announced a deal with the Pentagon, stating it includes safeguards against mass surveillance and requires "human responsibility for the use of force." Altman publicly suggested that Anthropic's standoff was unnecessary, claiming the Pentagon's terms were agreeable and should be offered to all AI companies. OpenAI already has a significant footprint in the public sector, with a $200 million contract under its "OpenAI for Government" initiative.
