Civil liberties groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), have urged Anthropic to hold the line. They’re casting the Pentagon’s push as an attempt to bully tech firms into building tools for bulk spying and automated warfare. Within Anthropic, employees have posted public messages backing leadership’s stance. They describe the showdown as a visible test of the company’s founding commitment to steer frontier AI away from the most destabilizing military uses.
These workers are not alone in supporting Anthropic’s stance. Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft employees announced they were behind Anthropic. Simultaneously, hundreds of Google and OpenAI employees signed an open letter calling on their companies to maintain Anthropic’s red lines against mass surveillance and fully automated weaponry. They said they “hope our leaders will stand together” to reject the current Pentagon terms.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, late yesterday threw a fit. “The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution. Their selfishness is putting AMERICAN LIVES at risk, our Troops in danger, and our National Security in JEOPARDY. Therefore, I am directing EVERY Federal Agency in the United States Government to IMMEDIATELY CEASE all use of Anthropic’s technology.“
