Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says conflict between Pentagon and Anthropic is ‘not the end of the world’

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There are plenty more fish in the sea

Claude by Anthropic
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
  • The Pentagon and Athropic continue to butt heads over use of Claude
  • Pete Hegseth has given Anthropic until Friday to comply
  • Anthropic could lose its contract or be forced to given the Pentagon full Claude access

Following the rift that has formed between the Pentagon and Anthropic over use of the Claude AI model for military purposes, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said it is “not the end of the world.”

Huang told CNBC both sides have "reasonable perspectives" - as the Pentagon has the right to decide how to use technology provided in contracts, and Anthropic has the right to decide how its models are used.

However, Anthropic has the potential to lose its $200 million contract with the Department of Defense unless common ground is found.

AI use for ‘all lawful purposes’

The Pentagon previously requested Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and xAI allow the use of their AI models for “all lawful purposes,” to which Anthropic put up the most resistance over fears its AI models could be used for autonomous weapons systems and mass domestic surveillance.

If the disagreement is not resolved, the Pentagon could invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA), which would allow the President to force Anthropic to comply with the Pentagon’s requests. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has already threatened to invoke the DPA and has label the company as a “supply chain risk.”

Hegseth has given Anthropic until Friday to comply with the Pentagon’s request.

US intelligence agencies such as the FBI and NSA have previously undertaken illegal mass surveillance campaigns against US citizens, such as the COINTELPRO project during much of the Vietnam war, the illegal use of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) in the 1990’s, and the use of the Patriot Act post 9/11 for covert and illegal mass surveillance.

Anthropic and Nvidia hold a strategic partnership with each other, as in exchange for Anthropic adopting the Nvidia architecture, Nvidia committed $5 billion in investments in return. Huang added, “I hope that they can work it out, but if it doesn’t get worked out, it’s also not the end of the world.”

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Benedict Collins
Benedict Collins
Senior Writer, Security

Benedict has been with TechRadar Pro for over two years, and has specialized in writing about cybersecurity, threat intelligence, and B2B security solutions. His coverage explores the critical areas of national security, including state-sponsored threat actors, APT groups, critical infrastructure, and social engineering.

Benedict holds an MA (Distinction) in Security, Intelligence, and Diplomacy from the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham, providing him with a strong academic foundation for his reporting on geopolitics, threat intelligence, and cyber-warfare.

Prior to his postgraduate studies, Benedict earned a BA in Politics with Journalism, providing him with the skills to translate complex political and security issues into comprehensible copy.

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