Anthropic seeks to debunk Pentagon's claims about its control over AI technology in military systems

WASHINGTON: Anthropic on Wednesday told an appeals court that it can't manipulate its artificial intelligence tool Claude once it is deployed in classified Pentagon military networks — an assertion aimed at debunking the Trump administration's attempt to brand the rapidly growing technology company as a "supply chain risk".

The statement made as part of 96-page filing with the US Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. provided a glimpse at the arguments that Anthropic's lawyers intend to make as part of a lawsuit filed last month in the fallout of a contract dispute over how AI technology can be used in fully autonomous weapons and potential surveillance of Americans.

Social disapproval or negative perception

San Francisco-based Anthropic contends the Pentagon is illegally retaliating against it by stigmatising it with a designation meant to protect against sabotage of national security systems by foreign adversaries.

Earlier this month, the appeals court rejected Anthropic’s request for an order that would have blocked the Pentagon's actions while the panel is still collecting evidence about the case.

Anthropic's new filing is meant to directly address some of the court's questions ahead of oral arguments scheduled for May 19.

The Trump administration will have an opportunity to file its response before that hearing.

Setback

Anthropic's temporary setback in the Washington case came after it already had prevailed in a separate case focused on the same issues in San Francisco federal court.

That decision prompted the Trump administration to remove the stigmatising labels from Anthropic, according court filings.

But the lack of a similar order in the parallel case in Washington continues to cast a cloud over Anthropic, whose AI tools have turned it into a rising tech star along with rival OpenAI.

After the Pentagon cancelled a $200 million contract with Anthropic in the wake of their disagreement, OpenAI struck a deal to provide its technology to the U.S. military.