#Pentagon

OpenAI reached an agreement for classified military AI use after Anthropic walked away over mass surveillance and autonomous weapons concerns.

Dario Amodei told the Pentagon he 'cannot in good conscience' lift restrictions on military use of Claude AI, even as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatens to invoke the Defense Production Act. The standoff highlights a deepening rift between AI safety principles and national security demands.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as the Pentagon pushes to integrate AI systems into military operations. The meeting highlights growing tensions between AI safety advocates and defense officials who want fewer restrictions on deploying AI in warfare.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to Washington and threatened to invoke the Defense Production Act if the company refuses to grant unrestricted military access to its AI models. The confrontation marks a dramatic escalation in the standoff between national security hawks and AI safety advocates.

Anthropic is holding firm on its refusal to allow its AI systems to be used for autonomous weapons and surveillance, despite the Pentagon threatening to invoke the Defense Production Act if the company does not comply by Friday. The standoff highlights the growing tension between AI safety commitments and national security demands.

The Defense Innovation Unit has announced a $100 million Orchestrator Prize Challenge, seeking technology that lets commanders control mixed swarms of drones from different manufacturers using plain language commands. The program represents a strategic pivot from buying individual drones to coordinating autonomous fleets.

Anthropic has weakened its Responsible Scaling Policy, removing hard tripwires that once promised to halt AI development if safety couldn't be guaranteed. The move comes the same day reports emerged that the Pentagon is demanding unrestricted military access to Claude.

The Pentagon has merged its Defense Innovation Board and Defense Science Board into a new unified advisory body, but the move comes as the Trump administration cuts basic science funding and reduces oversight structures across the department.

The Government Accountability Office is pushing for the Pentagon's research and engineering office to gain budget certification authority over military departments' technology investments, but the Army, Navy, and Air Force have pushed back sharply.

The DoD releases updated standards for protecting military bases from drone attacks using nets, reinforced shelters, and dispersal strategies.

New JIATF-401 guidance directs military and civilian sites to deploy netting, cables, and physical barriers as frontline drone defenses ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.