"US threatens Anthropic with deadline in dispute on AI safeguards" 24 Feb 2026

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to remove Anthropic from his agency's supply chain if the company declined to allow its artificial intelligence (AI) technology to be used across military applications

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A source told the BBC the tone of the discussion between Hegseth and Amodei was cordial, but Amodei laid out what Anthropic considers to be its red lines.

These include involvement in autonomous kinetic operations in which AI tools make final military targeting decisions without human intervention.

The use of Anthropic tools for mass domestic surveillance constitutes another red line, the source said.

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The official said that if Anthropic did not comply, Hegseth would ensure the Defense Production Act was invoked on the company.

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An Anthropic spokesperson said Amodei "expressed appreciation for the Department's work and thanked the Secretary for his service" during the meeting with Hegseth.