The Pentagon’s Anthropic Claude AI ultimatum set to test whether tech firms can keep ethical guardrails in war.
OpenAI’s Sam Altman has come out to defend rival Anthropic against concerns with working with the US Department of War . According to reports, Altman believes that any artificial intelligence company must ensure they have solid “redlines” when working with the Pentagon.
This all started when the Pentagon asked Anthropic to allow its AI model to be used for “all lawful use.” Anthropic, for its part, is happy to work with the DoW, but is concerned that this could mean that its AI models could be used for things like autonomous weapons. It could also, theoretically, be employed for mass surveillance of otherwise law-abiding US citizens. Its AI could also be in systems where reliability isn’t guaranteed.For reference, Anthropic’s Claude AI was the first AI model of its kind to be used in classified military applications. The Pentagon has now, reportedly, given them until 5:01 pm on February 27 to comply. More worryingly for them, if they refuse, it could jeopardise their current lucrative $200M contract with the DoW. Non-cooperation could also lead to the company being labelled as a “supply chain risk.”Anthropic must drop guardrails, DoW demandFurthermore, the government could potentially use legal powers to compel cooperation. That would obviously be a very serious escalation if it occurred.According to CNN, Sam Altman has now stepped in to try to get the Pentagon to de-escalate things. This is because he believes the issue is not an isolated incident concerning just Anthropic, but could also impact other AI companies, like OpenAI.In other words, if successful, it would set an unacceptable precedent. Put another way, the Pentagon is effectively requesting Anthropic to drop its internal AI safety guardrails under duress. “For all the differences I have with Anthropic, I mostly trust them as a company, and I think they really do care about safety, and I’ve been happy that they’ve been supporting our war fighters,” Altman told CNC in an interview on Friday. “I’m not sure where this is going to go,” he added.“This is no longer just an issue between Anthropic and the DoW; this is an issue for the whole industry, and it is important to clarify our stance,” Altman reportedly told OpenAI staff in an internal memo. Waiting with bated breathHe also explained that OpenAI has its own proposal for the Pentagon that they believe will allow “our models to be deployed in classified environments and that fits with our principles,” which could work for other AI labs as well.“We believe this dispute isn’t about how AI will be used, but about control. We believe that a private US company cannot be more powerful than the democratically-elected US government, although companies can have lots of input and influence,” Altman continued in the memo, according to the Wall Street Journal.“The way the current situation has gone risks our national security, and also risks the government resorting to actions that could risk American leadership in AI. We would like to try to help de-escalate things,” Altman added.Whatever next unfolds won’t just determine one AI-DoW contract, but the rules of engagement between Silicon Valley and the state. Whether “ethical veto power” survives this moment may define how military AI is built, deployed, and ultimately controlled for many years to come.
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