U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday directed federal agencies to immediately stop using artificial intelligence technology developed by Anthropic, escalating a dispute between the AI firm and the U.S. Department of Defense.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the United States would not allow “a far-left company” to dictate how the military conducts operations, adding that the decision rested with him as commander-in-chief and with military leaders he appoints.
The order comes as Anthropic and the Pentagon have been engaged in tense negotiations over the company’s terms of service. The Defense Department had set a deadline of 5:01 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday for Anthropic to agree to permit use of its models for all lawful government purposes.
Trump said agencies currently using Anthropic products would be granted a six-month wind-down period.
Anthropic signed a $200 million contract with the Pentagon in July. The company has sought assurances that its AI models would not be deployed in fully autonomous weapons systems or for large-scale domestic surveillance of Americans.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had warned that failure to comply could result in the company being designated a supply chain risk or compelled to cooperate under the Defense Production Act.
Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei said the company could not “in good conscience” allow unrestricted military use of its models.
Separately, OpenAI said on Friday it maintains similar “red lines” regarding the use of its technology by the Pentagon and other clients.
In a memo seen by CNBC, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman wrote that the company has long opposed the use of AI for mass surveillance or fully autonomous lethal weapons, and that meaningful human oversight should remain part of high-stakes automated decision-making.
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