Anthropic stands by AI safety commitments despite US military pressure

In a blog article, US-based artificial intelligence (AI) safety and research company Anthropic has rejected demands from the US government to remove safety precautions from its Claude AI model and grant the US military unrestricted access to its capabilities. The Department of Defense had threatened to cancel a $200 million contract and designate the firm a supply chain risk if it did not comply by Friday.

While the Pentagon has demanded the removal of safety guardrails for any lawful use, Anthropic refuses to allow its technology to be used for mass domestic surveillance or in autonomous weapons systems capable of lethal action without human input. Chief executive Dario Amodei stated that such applications are currently beyond what technology can safely and reliably achieve.

Despite financial threats from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the company has maintained its position, asserting that it cannot, in good conscience, accede to the request. Amodei expressed a preference to continue supporting US national security, but only with specific safeguards remaining in place. 

The standoff is a significant test of Anthropic's claim to be the most safety-conscious of the major AI providers. 

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