ANTHROPIC SUES US ADMINISTRATION OVER SECURITY RISK CLASSIFICATION

SAN FRANCISCO, March 10 (Bernama-dpa) -- Anthropic said on Monday that it is suing the Pentagon over its decision to classify the artificial intelligence company as a supply chain risk to national security, a designation that effectively bars it from most government contracts, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

Anthropic stipulates that its AI models should not be used for mass surveillance of United States (US) citizens or in autonomous weapons systems.

The US Defence Department has demanded the rights for any lawful use.

Anthropic argues that the US government's actions violate the company's right to free speech because it is being punished for its principles.

It is highly unusual for a US company to be declared a "supply chain risk to national security."

President Donald Trump ordered all US federal agencies to stop using Anthropic technology.

Anthropic was previously the only AI company whose software had been approved for classified use by the US military.

Following the dispute with Anthropic, ChatGPT developer OpenAI entered into an agreement with the Pentagon.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman accepted the ministry’s terms but later assured that there would be technical safeguards to prevent the software from being used for mass surveillance in the US.

OpenAI robotics chief Caitlin Kalinowski resigned over the weekend in protest at the deal.

Anthropic's AI software, Claude, competes directly with ChatGPT, particularly for business applications.

Anthropic head Dario Amodei has cautioned that AI allows a detailed picture of individuals to be created by combining isolated data on their lives through the internet, while at the same time being not sufficiently reliable to be used in fully autonomous weapons.

"We will not knowingly provide a product that puts America's warfighters and civilians at risk," Amodei wrote in a blog post last month.

--BERNAMA-dpa