Anthropic: "Statement from Dario Amodei on our discussions with the Department of War"

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2026·EA Forum·forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/PnzfLxaG9mX6JrDKe/anthr...

Author

Matrice Jacobine🔸🏳️‍⚧️

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3/5

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Good quality. Reputable source with community review or editorial standards, but less rigorous than peer-reviewed venues.

Rating inherited from publication venue: EA Forum

This EA Forum post is a direct statement from Anthropic's CEO about the company's government engagement, relevant to debates about AI lab governance, dual-use concerns, and the relationship between safety-focused organizations and military applications of AI.

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PolicyAI safetyExistential riskGlobal health & developmentUS policyAI governanceAnthropicAutonomous weaponPublic communication on AI safetySurveillanceUnited StatesArmed conflictInternational relationsNear-term AI ethicsNews relevant to effective altruism

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Importance: 52/100primary source

Summary

Dario Amodei's public statement addressing Anthropic's engagement with the U.S. Department of Defense, explaining the rationale and scope of these discussions. The statement situates military/government collaboration within Anthropic's broader AI safety mission and seeks to clarify the company's position to the EA and AI safety community.

Key Points

•Anthropic engaged in discussions with the U.S. Department of Defense, prompting a formal public statement from CEO Dario Amodei.
•The statement attempts to reconcile government/military collaboration with Anthropic's stated AI safety mission and values.
•Published on the EA Forum, signaling Anthropic's intent to maintain transparency with the EA and AI safety communities.
•Raises broader questions about the role of safety-focused AI labs in national security and dual-use research contexts.
•Reflects ongoing tensions in the AI safety field between commercial/government partnerships and independent safety research.

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# Anthropic: "Statement from Dario Amodei on our discussions with the Department of War"
By Matrice Jacobine🔸🏳️‍⚧️
Published: 2026-02-26
> I believe deeply in the existential importance of using AI to defend the United States and other democracies, and to defeat our autocratic adversaries.
> 
> Anthropic has therefore worked proactively to deploy our models to the Department of War and the intelligence community. We were [the first frontier AI company](https://www.anthropic.com/news/expanding-access-to-claude-for-government) to deploy our models in the US government’s classified networks, the first to deploy them at the [National Laboratories](https://www.axios.com/2024/11/14/anthropic-claude-nuclear-information-safety), and the first to provide [custom models](https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-gov-models-for-u-s-national-security-customers) for national security customers. Claude is [extensively deployed](https://www.anthropic.com/news/anthropic-and-the-department-of-defense-to-advance-responsible-ai-in-defense-operations) across the Department of War and other national security agencies for mission-critical applications, such as intelligence analysis, modeling and simulation, operational planning, cyber operations, and more.
> 
> Anthropic has also acted to defend America’s lead in AI, even when it is against the company’s short-term interest. We chose to forgo several hundred million dollars in revenue to cut off the [use of Claude by firms linked to the Chinese Communist Party](https://www.anthropic.com/news/updating-restrictions-of-sales-to-unsupported-regions) (some of whom have been [designated by the Department of War](https://media.defense.gov/2025/Jan/07/2003625471/-1/-1/1/ENTITIES-IDENTIFIED-AS-CHINESE-MILITARY-COMPANIES-OPERATING-IN-THE-UNITED-STATES.PDF) as Chinese Military Companies), shut down [CCP-sponsored cyberattacks](https://www.anthropic.com/news/disrupting-AI-espionage) that attempted to abuse Claude, and have advocated for [strong export controls on chips](https://www.wsj.com/opinion/trump-can-keep-americas-ai-advantage-china-chips-data-eccdce91?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqdPk42glTHtJxGWpiSYR1xY28wMr6SpvGWmvlfp8_gYMp2h0ulOBH89Njx5eB0%3D&gaa_ts=6983c8a6&gaa_sig=t3NbNoEV35S9fhpBAUsmCPXHG6Zc3taB_jNESn4lAI7qy0l37FtVqnKZe-ASVGLp4SqxRsIS-HRn0k51UzsdpQ%3D%3D) to ensure a democratic advantage.
> 
> Anthropic understands that the Department of War, not private companies, makes military decisions. We have never raised objections to particular military operations nor attempted to limit use of our technology in an *ad hoc* manner.
> 
> However, in a narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values. Some uses are also simply outside the bounds of what today’s technology can safely and reliably do. Two such use cases have never been included in our contracts with the Department of War, and we believe they should not be included now:
> 
> *   **Mass domestic surveillance.** We support the use of AI

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