Anthropic was illegally blacklisted by the Trump administration, court rules

It all started this past winter, when Hegseth decided to renegotiate all AI labs’ current contracts with the military to allow the Pentagon to use AI for “any lawful use,” which would expand the Pentagon’s authority significantly. Most AI labs ended up signing onto the new terms, but Anthropic stood firm on setting two restrictions: not allowing for its AI to be used for mass surveillance of Americans or for lethal autonomous weapons (i.e., AI systems with the power to kill targets without human oversight). Anthropic’s refusal to cooperate kicked off a high-stakes back-and-forth of intensifying pressure on both sides, followed by a bevy of insults from Department of Defense officials and a final ultimatum from the Trump administration.