{"id":46909,"date":"2026-02-26T11:41:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=46909"},"modified":"2026-02-26T11:41:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:41:53","slug":"hegseth-demands-anthropic-let-military-use-ai-however-it-wants-even-for-autonomous-killer-drones-and-spying-on-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/02\/26\/hegseth-demands-anthropic-let-military-use-ai-however-it-wants-even-for-autonomous-killer-drones-and-spying-on-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth Demands Anthropic Let Military Use AI However It Wants\u2014Even for Autonomous Killer Drones and Spying On Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"SECRETARY<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a visit to Sierra Space in Louisville, Colorado on February 23, 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo by Aaron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the company that owns the AI assistant Claude would be punished unless it drops all ethical guidelines.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Prager<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feb 25, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has threatened<\/a> to punish the artificial intelligence<\/a> company Anthropic if it doesn\u2019t let the Pentagon<\/a> use its technology<\/a> however it wants\u2014apparently even to create autonomous killer drones or conduct surveillance of Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anthropic\u2019s powerful AI model, Claude, is currently the only one permitted to handle classified military data, and the company was awarded a $200 million contract last year to develop AI capabilities for the Department of Defense to use alongside other AI firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, the company\u2019s usage policy prohibits its use for mass surveillance and for the development of autonomous weapons\u2014such as drones that attack targets without a human operator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These limitations have infuriated the Defense Department leadership. On Tuesday, Hegseth called Anthropic\u2019s CEO, Dario Amodei, to a meeting at the Pentagon, where he demanded \u201cunfettered\u201d access to Claude without any guardrails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This goal was outlined last month in the department\u2019s \u201cAI Strategy\u201d memo<\/a>, which called for the US to adopt an \u201cAI-first warfighting force\u201d and for companies to allow their technology to be deployed for \u201cany lawful use,\u201d free from ethical safeguards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a senior defense official who spoke to Axios<\/a>, <\/em>Hegseth issued an ultimatum to Amodei on Tuesday: If he does not grant the Pentagon unrestricted use of Anthropic\u2019s technology by 5:01 pm on Friday, the department would take measures to coerce the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would either declare Anthropic a \u201csupply chain risk,\u201d effectively blacklisting it for military use and ending its contract, or it would invoke the Defense Production Act, which would force the company to tailor the product to the military\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it would not be an unusual step for the Pentagon to cut ties with Anthropic, threats to declare it a supply chain risk have been described as extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica Tillipman, the associate dean for government procurement law studies at George Washington<\/a> University, who specializes in AI governance, wrote<\/a> on social media<\/a> that the threat of \u201cdeclaring Anthropic a supply chain risk is deeply problematic,\u201d as it\u2019s \u201cgenerally something we reserve for products that create security risks, and using it in this way undermines its purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Elizabeth Nolan Brown\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0on Wednesday for\u00a0Reason<\/em>, it \u201cwould mean anyone who wants to work with the\u00a0US military<\/a>\u00a0in any capacity must sever ties with the AI company,\u201d which could deal a major blow to the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Anthropic's CEO Explains His Refusal to Back Down to the Pentagon.

Amodei explained his deep concerns over "autonomous drone swarms" and mass surveillance.

He pointed out a crucial reality: our military's constitutional protections rely entirely on human soldiers having the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/IsmbKecwsB<\/a><\/p>— Wes Roth (@WesRoth) February 24, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>