Axios: Silicon Valley’s thorny Pentagon dilemma

Posted on February 19, 2026 by michelleclarke2015
Silicon Valley’s thorny Pentagon dilemma
 
Animated illustration of the Pentagon Building as the center of a computer circuit board
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
 
As the Pentagon and Anthropic wage an ugly and potentially costly battle, three other leading AI labs are also negotiating with the department — and deliberating internally — about the terms under which they’ll let the military use their models, Axios’ Dave Lawler and Maria Curi write.

Why it matters: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to integrate AI into everything the military does more quickly and effectively than adversaries like China. Hegseth is insisting AI firms give unrestricted access to their models with no questions asked — and showing he’s willing to play hardball to force their hands.

The Pentagon is threatening to sever its contract with Anthropic and declare the company a “supply chain risk” if it’s unwilling to lift certain restrictions on its model, Claude.
The military’s use of it in the Nicolás Maduro raid deepened tensions.🔬

Zoom in: Claude is the only model available in the military’s classified systems through Anthropic’s partnership with Palantir.

Three other models — OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and xAI’s Grok — are available in unclassified systems.

Negotiations to bring those companies into the classified domain are now more urgent as the Pentagon ponders how to replace Claude if necessary — a process a senior official conceded would be massively disruptive.

One acknowledged that the fight with Anthropic was a useful way to set the tone for negotiations with the other three.Keep reading.
  
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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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