Hegseth issues an ultimatum to 'woke AI' Anthropic: Get with military program by Friday or lose $200 million | Fortune

"Department of War AI will not be woke. It will work for us. We're building war-ready weapons and systems, not chatbots for an Ivy League faculty lounge. This statement from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth encapsulates the administration's rejection of AI safety measures, framing them as ideological restrictions incompatible with military objectives and national defense priorities."

"Anthropic is facing a deadline of 5:01 p.m. Friday to give the Pentagon unrestricted access to its AI technology or be blacklisted from the military supply chain. Hegseth warned Anthropic the Pentagon could label the company a supply chain risk, a designation reserved for foreign adversarial firms such as Chinese-based Huawei, forcing military contractors to cut ties with Anthropic."

"The company would support the government's functions in line with the company's principles for responsible AI, saying it will continue to support the government's national security mission in line with what our models can reliably and responsibly do. This reflects Anthropic's position balancing military cooperation with maintaining safety standards."

The Trump administration, led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, has condemned AI safeguards as "woke" and demands that Anthropic remove ideological restrictions from its AI systems for military use. Anthropic faces a Friday deadline to grant the Pentagon unrestricted access to its technology or face blacklisting from the military supply chain and potential designation as a supply chain risk. Hegseth has threatened to invoke the Defense Production Act if Anthropic refuses compliance. The standoff reflects months of negotiations over military AI deployment. Anthropic maintains it will support national security while adhering to responsible AI principles, creating a broader conflict over whether tech companies or the government should control AI usage terms.

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