Anthropic refuses Pentagon’s new terms, standing firm on lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance | The Verge

NewsAIAnthropicAnthropic refuses Pentagon’s new terms, standing firm on lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillanceCEO Dario Amodei’s statement came less than 24 hours before the deadline in the Pentagon’s ultimatum.CEO Dario Amodei’s statement came less than 24 hours before the deadline in the Pentagon’s ultimatum.by Hayden FieldFeb 26, 2026, 11:22 PM UTCLinkShareGiftImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesHayden Field is The Verge’s senior AI reporter. An AI beat reporter for more than five years, her work has also appeared in CNBC, MIT Technology Review, Wired UK, and other outlets.Less than 24 hours before the deadline in an ultimatum issued by the Pentagon, Anthropic has refused the Department of Defense’s demands for unrestricted access to its AI.It’s the culmination of a dramatic exchange of public statements, social media posts, and behind-the-scenes negotiations, coming down to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s desire to renegotiate all AI labs’ current contracts with the military. But Anthropic, so far, has refused to back down from its two current red lines: no mass surveillance of Americans, and no lethal autonomous weapons (or weapons with license to kill targets with no human oversight whatsoever). OpenAI and xAI had reportedly already agreed to the new terms, while Anthropic’s refusal had led to CEO Dario Amodei being summoned to the White House this week for a meeting with Hegseth himself, in which the Secretary reportedly issued an ultimatum to ...