Dario Amodei Is A ‘Liar’ With God Complex Says Trump Official As Anthropic Refuses To Comply With Pentagon’s Request For Unrestricted AI

by | Feb 27, 2026 | General

On Thursday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that the AI startup “cannot in good conscience accede” to new Defense Department contract language that would permit unrestricted military use of its AI system, Claude.

AI Contract Clash With The Pentagon

In a blog post, the San Francisco-based startup said updated terms from the U.S. Department of Defense made virtually no progress in blocking the model’s potential use for mass surveillance of Americans or fully autonomous weapons.

Anthropic said the Department of War will only work with AI companies that agree to “any lawful use” and remove safeguards on surveillance and autonomous weapons.

It said the agency has threatened to cut it off, label it a “supply chain risk” and use the Defense Production Act to force the changes.

“Regardless, these threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request,” Amodei stated.

The Pentagon also maintains AI contracts with Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google, OpenAI and xAI, founded by Elon Musk.

Pentagon Issues Ultimatum

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly gave Anthropic until Friday to open its AI models for unrestricted use or risk losing its government contract.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell took to X and said the military “has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal)” nor to develop weapons operating without human involvement.

He added that the department wants to use Anthropic’s model “for all lawful purposes.”

Under Secretary of War Emil Michael also took to X and called Amodei a “liar.”

“The @DeptofWar will ALWAYS adhere to the law but not bend to whims of any one for-profit tech company,” he wrote.

On the other hand, earlier this week, Vitalik Buterin, creator of Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), urged Anthropic to stand firm on its stance against autonomous weapons and mass surveillance, even if it comes at a cost.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo Courtesy: gguy on Shutterstock.com