Former Military Officials, Academics, and Tech Policy Leaders Denounce Pentagon’s Tactics Against Anthropic

Over two dozen former defense and intelligence officials, tech policy leaders, and academics have signed on to a letter addressed to members of Congress over the Pentagon’s recent decision to list Anthropic as a supply chain risk.

The letter was signed by former high-ranking officials and current tech experts from across the political spectrum and calls on Congress to establish clear policies governing the use of AI for domestic surveillance and autonomous lethal weapons systems, the two issues at the center of the conflict.

Anthropic had refused to loosen those guardrails for the military, setting off Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump, who have tried to blacklist the AI company, demanding that other firms with government contracts no longer do business with them.

The letter calls for the federal government’s designation of the AI company as a supply chain risk an “inappropriate use of executive authority against Anthropic.”  Brad Carson, president of Americans for Responsible Innovation, and former Under Secretary of the Army, told Gizmodo in a statement that it was a dangerous precedent.

“The use of this authority against a domestic American company is a profound departure from its intended purpose and sets a dangerous precedent,” the letter reads. “Supply chain risk designations exist to protect the United States from infiltration by foreign adversaries — from companies beholden to Beijing or Moscow, not from American innovators operating transparently under the rule of law.”

The signatories to the letter include former CIA director Michael Hayden, retired Vice Admiral of the Navy Donald Arthur and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Diana Banks Thompson, among a host of other members of the military. Tech and education experts Lawrence Lessig and Randi Weingarten are also on the list, along with members of various tech-focused think tanks.

The letter notes that caring about fully autonomous weapons and mass surveillance of weapons is a very mainstream thing:

They are not fringe positions. The prohibition on fully autonomous lethal weapons is consistent with the laws of armed conflict, including principles of distinction and proportionality codified in the Geneva Conventions. The prohibition on mass domestic surveillance is grounded in the Fourth Amendment and in binding U.S. treaty obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

It also points out that blacklisting an American company weakens U.S. competitiveness, warning this is “not a marketplace any serious entrepreneur or investor can build around.”

The letter is addressed to members of both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, including Republicans Sen. Roger Wicker and Rep. Mike Rogers as well as Democrats Sen. Jack Reed and Rep. Adam Smith.

Anthropic’s future is still in doubt. Hegseth still hasn’t formally given Anthropic notice that it’s a supply chain risk (aside from a tweet) and the latest reporting from CBS News suggests the AI company is still trying to work out a deal with the Pentagon.