
The Email That Undercuts the Pentagon's Case Against Anthropic
A newly revealed message from the Pentagon's own Under Secretary of War shows the two sides were "very close" on the issues now cited as national security threats — one day after the government moved to blacklist the AI company.
On March 4, the day after the Pentagon formally designated Anthropic an "unacceptable risk to national security," Under Secretary of War Emil Michael sent an email to CEO Dario Amodei. The message said the two sides were "very close" on the very issues the government now cites as evidence that Anthropic threatens America's safety: its positions on autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.
That email, revealed in sworn court declarations filed late Friday, is now at the heart of one of the most consequential legal battles in the history of artificial intelligence.
The dispute traces back to late February, when Anthropic — the San Francisco company behind the AI chatbot Claude — refused to allow unrestricted military use of its technology. The company sought assurances that Claude would not be used for mass surveillance of American citizens or to power lethal autonomous weapons. The Pentagon insisted on access for "all lawful use."
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