THIS WEEK IN AI
Candice Bryant Consulting
Strategic Intelligence & Public Affairs
ALL LAWFUL USE
On Friday, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's Claude and by Saturday we were at war with Iran. Tomorrow, big tech heads to the White House to discuss AI's impact on consumer energy costs. These stories are more related than they may appear.
For those already across the headlines, skip to "What I'm Watching" for insights, including why the conflict in Iran has raised the stakes.
ANTHROPIC BLACKLISTED — President Trump ordered all federal agencies to cease using Claude and the Pentagon announced it was designating Anthropic a supply chain risk. The dispute centered on Anthropic's refusal to make Claude available for all lawful use without contract restrictions. OpenAI stepped in Friday night with its own Pentagon deal. CEO Sam Altman said the agreement includes the same red lines, but apparently enforced through existing law and layered protections.
U.S. STRIKES IRAN — The U.S. and Israel launched large-scale strikes against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Khamenei and senior military leadership. Iran has responded by launching missiles and drones across the region. President Trump projected the campaign could last four to five weeks but would continue "as long as necessary.”
BIG TECH HEADS TO THE WHITE HOUSE — On Wednesday, leaders from Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI will meet with President Trump at the White House to sign a "Ratepayer Protection Pledge," committing to build or buy their own data center power in the wake of consumer concerns over rising electricity costs.
WHAT I'M WATCHING
What happened between the Pentagon and Anthropic comes down to three words: all lawful use. Amodei refused because he said the law hasn't caught up to what AI can do.
But AI is already at war. Last year's “12-Day War” between Israel and Iran has been called the first "hyperwar." Claude was reportedly used in Venezuela and the Iran strikes. And history tells us the ask for private industry in wartime gets bigger, not smaller.
During World War II, FDR used war powers to mobilize private industry — automakers built tanks, and factories across the country shifted to war production. A decade later during the Korean War, Congress passed the Defense Production Act, the same law the Pentagon reportedly considered applying to Anthropic. It's been reauthorized over 50 times.
President Biden invoked DPA for information-gathering from AI companies, setting the precedent that DPA applies to AI. But there's very little case law testing its limits because companies usually comply voluntarily.
Iran has raised the stakes. American soldiers have been killed. President Trump has said the military will continue "as long as necessary" and warned the public to brace for more casualties. The ripple effects are being felt across the Middle East.
When tech leaders head to the White House tomorrow, they'll be sitting across from a wartime president. The gap in "all lawful use" that Amodei was concerned about on Friday will not have changed.
But the answer's not in contracts. It's in Congress. Amodei’s concern: tech moves fast and Congress moves slow.
So for now, the answer's in the room.
— Candice
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