Anthropic Rejects Pentagon Ultimatum, CEO Says Company 'Cannot in Good Conscience' Remove AI Safety Limits

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei rejected the Pentagon's ultimatum to give the U.S. military unrestricted access to its Claude AI, saying the company 'cannot in good conscience' comply with demands to remove all safety guardrails for military applications. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given Anthropic until 5:01 PM Friday to agree to let Claude be used for 'all lawful purposes' or face consequences including designation as a 'supply chain risk' — a label that could effectively blacklist the company from working with any defense contractor. The standoff represents the biggest confrontation between the U.S. government and an AI company over safety restrictions, with Anthropic maintaining its red lines against fully autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance while competitors like xAI signal willingness to take its place.