A high-ranking Pentagon official, Emil Michael, has publicly blasted Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on X, calling him a “liar” with a “God-complex,” as reported by CNN. This comes after Anthropic rejected the Pentagon’s latest offer to modify their $200 million contract, citing ongoing concerns about how their AI could be used.
The heart of the disagreement lies in the restrictions Anthropic has placed on Claude, their AI system that’s already in use within the military’s classified network. Anthropic is standing firm, refusing to allow its AI model to be used for mass surveillance or in fully autonomous weapons. They’re saying these specific applications don’t align with their company’s values or the current capabilities of the technology.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had a pretty blunt message for Amodei earlier this week. He warned that if Anthropic didn’t budge on allowing Claude to be used for “all lawful purposes,” the Pentagon would cancel their substantial $200 million contract. Not only that, but Pentagon officials said Anthropic would also be slapped with a “supply chain risk” classification.
The tug of war between Anthropic and Pentagon is worth keeping tabs on, as it sheds light on how the government aim to leverage AI
Anthropic, in a statement, explained that while the Pentagon’s new language was presented as a compromise, they felt it was “paired with legalese that would allow those safeguards to be disregarded at will.” Basically, they saw loopholes that would undermine their core concerns. Amodei then doubled down in a lengthy blog post. He stressed his deep belief in using AI to defend the United States and other democracies against autocratic adversaries.
Amodei acknowledged that the Pentagon, not private companies, should be making military decisions. However, he emphasized that “in a narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values.” He also pointed out that use cases like mass surveillance and autonomous weapons are simply “outside the bounds of what today’s technology can safely and reliably do.”
Interestingly, Amodei also mentioned that Anthropic’s two exceptions haven’t actually slowed down the adoption and use of their models within the armed forces so far. Despite the Pentagon’s threats, Amodei made it clear that their position hasn’t changed. He stated, “we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.”
That’s when Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s Undersecretary for Research and Engineering, who was directly involved in these negotiations, took to X. He wrote, “It’s a shame that @DarioAmodei is a liar and has a God-complex. He wants nothing more than to try to personally control the US Military and is ok putting our nation’s safety at risk. The @DeptofWar will ALWAYS adhere to the law but not bend to whims of any one for-profit tech company.”
Following Amodei’s blog post, it seems like Anthropic staffers are rallying around their CEO. Trenton Bricken, a member of Anthropic’s technical team for alignment, wrote on X that he’s seen the company consistently uphold its values, even in ways that aren’t always visible. He called this particular situation a “clear instance where it is visible.”
Gian Segato, a data science manager at Anthropic, echoed that sentiment, writing that “history is unfolding in front of us.” Segato believes it’s now obvious why Anthropic’s founding was a crucial moment and how catastrophic the alternative would have been.
Published: Feb 27, 2026 03:30 pm