WASHINGTON — Defense Department officials have issued a firm deadline to artificial intelligence company Anthropic, demanding the firm agree to expanded military use of its technology by Friday evening or face serious consequences.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell emphasized Thursday through social media that military leaders want access to Anthropic’s AI systems for all legitimate purposes and stressed that the company will not be allowed to restrict operational decisions.
“The Pentagon has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal) nor do we want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement,” Parnell stated.
These specific applications are already prohibited under Anthropic’s current policies. The company remains the only major AI firm that hasn’t provided its technology to the military’s new internal network system.
While Parnell confirmed the Pentagon seeks to “use Anthropic’s model for all lawful purposes,” he declined to elaborate on specific intended applications. He argued that broader access would ensure the company doesn’t interfere with “critical military operations.”
“We will not let ANY company dictate the terms regarding how we make operational decisions,” he declared.
The ultimatum follows a Tuesday meeting between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Anthropic’s chief executive Dario Amodei, where military leaders outlined potential repercussions including supply chain risk designation, contract termination, or invoking the Defense Production Act from the Cold War era to force broader technology access.
In his Thursday social media post, Parnell referenced two of these potential actions and set a specific timeline, stating Anthropic has “until 5:01 PM ET on Friday to decide.”
“Otherwise, we will terminate our partnership with Anthropic and deem them a supply chain risk,” he announced.
Anthropic had not provided a response to requests for comment by Thursday evening. Following Tuesday’s discussions, the company released a statement saying it “continued good-faith conversations about our usage policy to ensure Anthropic can continue to support the government’s national security mission in line with what our models can reliably and responsibly do.”
