Google and OpenAI have hundreds of employees supporting Anthropic in the conflict with the Pentagon

Short event summary

The week was in the spotlight due to disagreements between Anthropic and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The government demanded broader use of AI than the developer’s rules would allow. In response, hundreds of employees from OpenAI and Google expressed support for Anthropic, opposing “uncontrolled” military use of artificial intelligence.

1. What happened
Anthropic (developer of the Claude model) ↔ U.S. DoD
Government demand: expanded use of AI in military tasks, including citizen data collection and autonomous weapon systems
Anthropic’s position: ban on using Claude for surveillance of American citizens and automated lethal systems without human control

2. Industry reaction
* In an open letter titled “We Are Not Divided,” employees from OpenAI and Google called on their companies to unite against the use of AI for surveillance and autonomous killing.
* A petition signed by more than 450 employees (about half disclosed their names) was almost entirely drafted by Google representatives.
* Signatories: all employees of OpenAI or Google, without indicating affiliation with AI firms, political parties, or other organizations.

3. Consequences for Anthropic
* After refusing to grant the Pentagon “unrestricted” access to Claude, the company was placed on a blacklist.
* U.S. contractors working on military contracts must now stop using Claude and find a replacement within six months.
* The Pentagon is already negotiating with OpenAI and Google and has an active contract with xAI for use of the Grok chatbot in classified systems.

4. Management comments
* Sam Altman (OpenAI): stated readiness to follow Anthropic’s principles and emphasized that threats from the Pentagon are “inappropriate” for all market participants.

In summary: Disagreements between Anthropic and the government led to the company being blacklisted, while the AI industry showed solidarity with privacy protection and control over military technologies. The Pentagon continues to seek alternatives and negotiate with major market players.