Pentagon signs classified AI deals with tech giants, snubs Anthropic

AFP | Washington

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The Pentagon yesterday announced agreements with seven leading artificial intelligence companies to deploy their technology on classified military networks, a move that pointedly excludes Anthropic amid its ongoing dispute with the Defense Department.

SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, Reflection, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services will be integrated into the Defense Department's most sensitive classified systems, used for mission planning, weapons targeting and other purposes, according to a statement.

The statement did not mention Anthropic, which is caught up in a fight with the Pentagon over guardrails governing how the military could use its AI tools.

The US military currently uses Anthropic's AI but is weaning itself from it after the company objected to its technology being used for mass domestic surveillance or to directly control lethal autonomous weapons.

The Pentagon subsequently labeled the AI startup a supply-chain risk earlier this year, barring its use by the US military and its contractors.

In February, Trump instructed the government to "immediately cease" using Anthropic's technology -- a designation typically reserved for organizations from unfriendly foreign countries. "What we've learned... is that it's irresponsible to be reliant on any one partner," Emil Michael, the Pentagon's de facto chief technology officer, told CNBC. Michael added that the deals included a mix of closed and open-source models, with a source familiar with the matter telling AFP that the latter would be provided by Nvidia and AI firm Reflection.