You can add Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and NVIDIA to the growing list of tech giants that have decided to give the US Department of Defense access to their AI tools. according to bloombergThe three companies – along with another company, Reflection AI – have signed agreements allowing the Pentagon to use their AI technologies “for legitimate operational use” on classified military networks.
“These agreements accelerate the transition toward establishing the United States Army as an AI-first fighting force,” the Pentagon said in a statement. bloomberg. The four companies join xAI, OpenAI and Google in signing similar deals with the Defense Department. This essentially leaves Anthropic as the only major US-based AI provider without a working agreement with the Pentagon.
In February, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to label Anthropic a “supply chain risk” if it did not agree to roll back safeguards preventing the company’s chatbots, cloud from being used for mass surveillance against Americans, or from being deployed in fully autonomous weapons. After Anthropic refused to bow to Hegseth’s demands, President Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using the cloud and other Anthropic products within six months. As per the current situation, both the parties are embroiled in an ongoing court battle.
The rapid adoption of AI technology by the Department of Defense, and the speed at which American tech companies are lining up to sell their wares to the Trump administration, should be of concern to all American citizens. However, if there is some small consolation, it is that it appears that most people do not approve of the deals that AI companies are making with the Pentagon. OpenAI saw a 413 percent year-over-year increase in uninstallations of ChatGPT in February after the company reached a settlement with the Defense Department, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
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