Microsoft<\/a> is the first Big Tech company to take sides in Anthropic\u2019s feud with the Pentagon over the terms governing military use of its AI models.<\/p>\n The clash has split Silicon Valley, which has until recently carefully avoided openly challenging the Trump administration since the president\u2019s return to office. <\/p>\n The software giant argued a restraining order would allow time for a negotiated settlement and \u201creasoned discussion\u201d about the use of AI in military and intelligence operations.<\/p>\n Negotiations between Anthropic<\/a> and the Pentagon collapsed late last month after the $380bn start-up rejected a contract for military deployment of its technology. Chief executive Dario Amodei insisted on \u201cred lines\u201d prohibiting its use for lethal autonomous weapons and mass surveillance of US citizens.<\/p>\n Defence secretary Pete Hegseth has since moved to cut Anthropic from the Pentagon supply chain, a measure normally reserved for companies from China or Russia. <\/p>\n The administration has also demanded that all federal agencies stop using its Claude chatbot as part of a campaign against what it calls \u201cwoke\u201d AI.<\/p>\n Microsoft said its \u201cposition is that AI should be focused on lawful and appropriately guarded use cases\u201d.<\/p>\n AI, it said, \u201cshould not be used to conduct domestic mass surveillance or put the country in a position where autonomous machines could independently start a war\u201d.<\/p>\n The Seattle-based company, which has large military contracts, added that rapidly cutting off Anthropic could \u201champer US warfighters at a critical point in time\u201d.<\/p>\n Claude is currently the only AI tool used in classified military settings, although OpenAI recently signed a deal with the Pentagon.<\/p>\n Microsoft is not a defendant in the case and submitted the amicus brief to courts in California and the District of Columbia. <\/p>\n On Monday, a group of more than 30 researchers at Google and OpenAI, including DeepMind\u2019s chief scientist Jeff Dean, threw their personal support behind Anthropic in a similar letter.<\/p>\n The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Despite owning 27 per cent of arch-rival OpenAI, Microsoft has fostered close ties with the Claude chatbot maker and signed a $30bn cloud computing deal<\/a> with it in November. <\/p>\n Recommended<\/p>\n
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