AI vs. the Pentagon: killer robots, mass surveillance, and red lines

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 29: U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (C) speaks during a meeting of the Cabinet as U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (R) listen in the Cabinet Room of the White House on January 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is holding the meeting as the Senate plans to hold a vote on a spending package to avoid another government shutdown, however Democrats are holding out for a deal to consider funding for the Department of Homeland Security. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Can AI firms set limits on how and where the military uses their models? Anthropic is in heated negotiations with the Pentagon after refusing to comply with new military contract terms that would require it to loosen the guardrails on its AI models, allowing for “any lawful use,” even mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous lethal weapons.

Pentagon CTO Emil Michael is pushing for Anthropic to be designated a “supply chain risk” if it doesn’t comply, a label usually only given to national security threats. Anthropic’s rivals OpenAI and xAI have reportedly agreed to the new terms, but even after a White House meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is still refusing to cross his company’s red line, stating that “threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.”

Follow along here for the latest updates on the clash between AI companies and the Pentagon…

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