Anthropic formally responds: will sue the US Department of Defense over its identification of "supply chain risks"

The U.S. Department of Defense has officially notified Anthropic PBC that the company and its products are considered a risk to the U.S. supply chain. According to a senior defense official, this action has further intensified the dispute between the two sides in the field of artificial intelligence security. The official revealed on Thursday, "The Department of War (DOW) has officially issued a notice to the leadership of Anthropic, clearly stating that the company and its products are considered a supply chain risk, effective immediately." It is worth noting that Defense Secretary Pete Hegsees has recently been more inclined to use the traditional term "Department of War" to refer to the Department of Defense, and this notice marks the first time that this alias has been used to issue a formal statement. Facing the blacklist threat from the Department of Defense regarding artificial intelligence security, Anthropic PBC expects this stalemate to escalate into a legal showdown. "We firmly believe that this action lacks legal basis, so we have no choice but to defend ourselves through legal means," Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stated clearly in an official blog post on Thursday. Although the defense official emphasized that the decision "takes effect immediately," sources revealed that the U.S. military continues to use Anthropic's Claude artificial intelligence tools in military actions against Iran. Last Friday, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegsees issued a warning to the company, he outlined a six-month transition period, requiring them to transfer their artificial intelligence business to other suppliers. While the defense official stated that the decision "takes effect immediately," a source revealed that the U.S. military is still actively using Anthropic's Claude artificial intelligence tools in military actions against Iran. When Hegsees issued a warning to the company last Friday, he outlined a six-month transition period, requiring them to transfer their artificial intelligence business to other suppliers. Both Anthropic and a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense have not yet commented on this series of developments. It is worth noting that the defense official did not specify when or how the Department of Defense conveyed this risk assessment notice to Anthropic. Prior to this, Anthropic stated that they would take legal action against any supply chain risk assessment made by the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense's supply chain risk assessment may disrupt the coordination between Anthropic and the military - the military has long relied heavily on the company's software. Until recently, Anthropic remained the only approved supplier of artificial intelligence systems running on the U.S. Department of Defense's classified cloud platform, with their developed Claude Gov tool becoming a core operating platform for defense personnel due to its exceptional usability. "This constitutes a strategically valuable technological capability," emphasized Lauren Kahn, Senior Research Analyst at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, in an interview. "If this capability is forcibly deprived, it will lead to chain damages to the military, businesses, and the entire technological ecosystem." Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei had engaged in negotiations with Deputy Defense Minister Emil Michael, responsible for research and engineering, for several weeks to finalize a special contract that would regulate the U.S. Department of Defense's access to Anthropic technology. However, the negotiations broke down last week - the startup insisted on receiving explicit assurances to ensure that their artificial intelligence technology would not be used for mass surveillance of U.S. citizens or the deployment of autonomous weapon systems. Subsequently, Defense Secretary Pete Hegsees stated in a post on X platform on Friday that Anthropic had become a "supply chain risk." It is worth noting that such risk assessments typically target countries or entities considered adversaries by the United States, making this action against a tech company rare. It is currently unclear under which law the U.S. Department of Defense has classified Anthropic as a supply chain threat. In a statement responding to Defense Secretary Hegsees's social media post last week, Anthropic explicitly stated that they expect this risk assessment action to ultimately be carried out under Section 3252 of the U.S. Armed Forces Management Act. "From the beginning of the incident, the core principle has been clear - the military must have the autonomy to use technology for all legitimate purposes," emphasized the defense official on Thursday. "We will never allow any supplier to interfere with the chain of command by restricting the legitimate use of critical capabilities, thereby putting operators at risk." This assessment coincides with a crucial point in time when the U.S. military heavily relies on the Claude tools in military actions against Iran - the U.S. armed forces are efficiently handling combat operations using a series of artificial intelligence tools from Beijing Vastdata Technology. Sources revealed that the Maven intelligent system developed by Palantir Technologies Inc. is widely used in the Middle East, with Anthropic's Claude artificial intelligence tool being one of the core large language models carried by the system. These sources emphasized that Claude performs exceptionally well in operation, has become a crucial support for U.S. actions against Iran, and has significantly accelerated the artificial intelligence upgrade process of the Maven system. Currently, Anthropic is valued at $380 billion. Based on existing performance, the company is expected to achieve nearly $20 billion in annual revenue - this forecast indicates that their annual revenue run rate has doubled compared to the level at the end of last year. However, the ongoing dispute with the U.S. Department of Defense has cast a shadow over the future prospects of this tech giant. The long-term impact of the U.S. Department of Defense's risk assessment declaration on Anthropic's sales business (which has long been the core revenue pillar) towards enterprise clients remains to be seen. Under the cloud of the dispute, the company is quietly expanding into the consumer market - their main application has recently topped the Apple App Store download rankings, reflecting widespread recognition and user support for Anthropic's technological products.