Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude model, has filed two lawsuits against the US Department of Defense (DoD) after being labelled a 'supply chain risk'. The company argues the designation is unlawful and violates its First Amendment rights.
The lawsuits, lodged in the northern district court of California and the US court of appeals for the Washington DC Circuit, follow the Pentagon's formal blacklisting of Anthropic last Thursday. This marks the first time the supply chain risk tool has been used against a US company. The designation demands that any government contractor cut ties with Anthropic, threatening its business model.
Anthropic contends that the Trump administration is punishing the company for refusing to comply with ideological demands, thereby infringing on its protected speech. 'These actions are unprecedented and unlawful. The constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech,' the company stated in its California lawsuit.
The dispute stems from Anthropic's efforts to implement safeguards against the military's potential use of its AI for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous lethal weapons. Despite the feud, Anthropic's Claude model has been deeply integrated into the DoD over the past year, including use in targeting decisions during the war against Iran.
Anthropic emphasised its continued commitment to national security, stating it had previously collaborated with the DoD to modify systems. 'Seeking judicial review does not change our longstanding commitment to harnessing AI to protect our national security,' a spokesperson said. The company also noted it would pursue dialogue with the government.
The DoD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuits come amid apparent contradictions, with CEO Dario Amodei recently downplaying the impact of the designation, while the company alleges the government is 'seeking to destroy the economic value' of the firm.
