Trump Orders Halt to Federal Agency Cooperation with Anthropic

Donald Trump has ordered federal agencies to cease cooperation with the artificial intelligence company Anthropic. This decision follows disagreements regarding the use of Anthropic's AI system, Claude, by the Pentagon.

Anthropic has placed restrictions on the use of Claude, prohibiting its deployment in autonomous weapons and the mass surveillance of U.S. citizens. The Pentagon, however, desires the freedom to use the technology for all legitimate purposes.

Trump announced the decision via a post on Truth Social, giving federal agencies six months to phase out the use of Anthropic products. The U.S. government had warned Anthropic that it would face a “supply chain risk” designation if it did not comply with the Pentagon's demands.

Despite initial statements from Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Emil Michael, about an agreement with Anthropic, the disagreement culminated in a meeting between Secretary Pete Hegseth and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.

The cessation of cooperation could also create problems for the Pentagon, as it will need to replace systems that use Claude.