Pentagon Gives Anthropic Ultimatum Over AI Use

Washington — The Pentagon gave Anthropic an ultimatum Feb. 25, 2026, demanding unrestricted military use of its Claude AI model or threatening to bar the company from government contracts. The dispute, tied to a $200 million Pentagon contract and reports that Claude was used in a January operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, centers on company-imposed guardrails restricting surveillance and autonomous targeting. The deadline is Feb. 28, 2026.