Anthropic CEO: We’re trying to “deescalate” Pentagon AI standoff to reach “some agreement that works for us and works for them”
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic told investors Tuesday that his company was still in talks with the Pentagon “to try to de-escalate the situation” following a clash over AI safeguards in the military.
CBS News has exclusively obtained audio of Amodei’s remarks at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference in San Francisco. He told the audience that Anthropic and the Department of Defense “have much more in common than differences.” After expressing his belief in “defending America,” Amodei added “we have never questioned specific military operations. We do not consider that we have an operational role.”
Amodei told the audience that Anthropic was still in talks with the Pentagon “to try to deescalate the situation and come to an agreement that works for us and for them.” His remarks followed a public confrontation with the Pentagon that culminated in President Trump ordering the military to stop using Anthropic and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling the company a “supply chain risk.” This designation, which Amodei said it would challenge in court, effectively limits military contractors from working with Anthropic.
A source directly familiar with the situation said that in the five days since Mr. Trump canceled Anthropic’s government contracts, company executives expressed regret to Pentagon officials over the misunderstanding about Anthropic’s role in the military action.
The Defense Department declined our request for comment on this story.
Hours after Hegseth said the company would be considered a supply chain risk, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told CBS News exclusively that the label was “retaliatory and punitive,” and he vowed to fight that designation in court.
Amodei said Anthropic seeks to draw “red lines” in government use of its technology, specifically preventing its use for mass surveillance of Americans or for fully autonomous weapons. He said “we believe that crossing these lines is contrary to American values, and we wanted to defend American values.”
“Disagreeing with the government is the most American thing in the world,” Amodei said. “And we are patriots. In everything we have done here, we have defended the values of this country.”
Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s chief technology officer, told CBS News last Thursday that the military had offered to acknowledge in writing federal laws and military policies that restrict mass surveillance and autonomous weapons — although Anthropic said that offer was “laden with legalese” that allowed guardrails to be ignored.
“At some level, you have to trust your military to do the right thing,” Michael said.
Two sources familiar with the military’s use of AI confirm that the United States used Claude for the attack on Iran.
