US judge questions Pentagon move against AI firm Anthropic

A US federal judge on Tuesday raised concerns over the Pentagon's decision to designate AI company Anthropic a "supply chain risk," questioning whether the move was justified on national security grounds, local media reported.

During a hearing in San Francisco, US District Judge Rita Lin described the government's actions as "troubling" and suggested they may have gone beyond addressing legitimate security concerns, according to CBS News.

The dispute stems from Anthropic's refusal to allow its AI model, Claude, to be used for mass surveillance of Americans or in fully autonomous weapons systems. The US government has argued it must retain the ability to use such technology for "all lawful purposes," and after negotiations failed, the Pentagon moved to restrict the company's involvement in military-related work.

Anthropic subsequently filed a lawsuit, arguing the designation was unconstitutional and amounted to retaliation for its stance on AI safeguards. The company is seeking to block both the designation and a broader directive ordering federal agencies to stop using its technology.

At the hearing, a Justice Department lawyer said the Defense Department lacks clear legal authority to terminate contracts solely based on companies' separate ties with Anthropic.

Lin questioned whether the government's rationale-including concerns about potential "future sabotage"-was sufficiently substantiated. She suggested the designation could be based more on disagreements with the company than on concrete risks.

Anthropic's legal team rejected claims that the company could manipulate or disrupt its software once deployed, arguing that the government's actions have already harmed its business by creating uncertainty among partners.

The Pentagon has maintained that decisions on lawful uses of AI should rest with the government, not private firms, while emphasizing that existing policies already prohibit mass surveillance and autonomous weapons without human oversight.

Lin said she is expected to rule on the matter in the coming days.