On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced that he was instructing all federal agencies to "immediately cease" the use of Anthropic’s artificial intelligence tools. This directive follows a protracted clash between Anthropic and top officials over the incorporation of AI in military applications.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump accused Anthropic of attempting to influence military decisions, exclaiming, "The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War."
Trump indicated that federal agencies would undergo a "six-month phase-out period" for Anthropic’s AI, allowing time for possible negotiations between the government and the AI firm.
The Pentagon and Anthropic have not yet responded to requests for comment on this development.
The Department of Defense aims to revise an agreement from last July with Anthropic and other companies, which currently restricts AI deployment. The proposed changes seek to authorize "all lawful use" of AI technology. Anthropic has opposed these amendments, arguing they could enable AI to control lethal autonomous weapons or conduct mass surveillance on US citizens.
Although the Pentagon currently doesn't use AI in these capacities and has no declared intentions to do so, officials in the Trump administration have expressed concern about a civilian tech company having influence over military AI deployment strategy.
Anthropic was the first major AI lab to engage with the US military through a $200 million agreement made with the Pentagon last year. It developed several specialized models known as Claude Gov, which feature fewer restrictions compared to its standard models. Google, OpenAI, and xAI also entered into similar agreements around the same time, but Anthropic remains the sole AI firm involved with classified systems.