US judge blocks Pentagon blacklisting of AI firm Anthropic

Court order rules that Pentagon acted illegally, punishing AI company for criticism of government.A United States judge has blocked the Pentagon’s blacklisting of technology company Anthropic.In a 59-page written order issued on Thursday night, District Judge Rita Lin ruled that the Department of Defense had acted illegally when it designated the company a supply chain risk to national security.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3DRC begins vaccinating front-line healthcare workers against Ebolalist 2 of 3Six months of war between Iran, US leave Arab states facing tough questionslist 3 of 3Death toll from Nepal-Tibet flood surpasses 470 as barrier lake threatensend of listThe decision marks the latest turn in the Claude maker’s high-stakes fight with the US military over Artificial Intelligence safety on the battlefield. The government is expected to fight the ruling.The judge’s order rebuked the Pentagon, saying it had targeted and punished Anthropic for the company’s public criticism of the Defense Department’s stance on AI deployment on the battlefield.“The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics,” Lin, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote.Autonomous weapons and domestic surveillanceAnthropic’s lawsuit in a California federal court alleges that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overstepped his authority when he designated the company a national security supply-chain risk.Hegseth’s move, which blocked Anthropic from military contracts, followed the company’s refusal to allow the military to use its Claude AI models for US surveillance or autonomous weapons.Anthropic argues that AI models are not reliable enough for autonomous weapons and opposes domestic surveillance. The Pentagon maintains that private companies should not constrain military action.Executives have said the ban could cost the company billions of dollars in lost business.