Anthropic Boss Apologises For Leaked Memo About Pentagon, Trump

Anthropic chief Dario Amodei has apologised for a leaked memo and how he handled negotiations with the Pentagon. This was the AI lab CEO's first interview after the Pentagon labelled Anthropic as a supply chain risk.

Calling the crisis one of the most “disorienting” times in Anthropic's history, Amodei told The Economist that he would challenge the Pentagon's designation in court to avoid a “chilling” effect on the AI startup's business.

What Anthropic Memo Said

In a memo, Amodei sent to staff hours before he received a notice confirming the company's status as a supply-chain risk, he said that the Trump administration did not like Anthropic as they did not lavish “dictator-style praise” on him. The Anthropic boss has since issued an apology for the memo, adding that it was written after a “difficult day for the company”, CNBC reported.

In a statement issued on Anthropic's website, Amodei said that the memo was“written six days ago, and is an out-of-date assessment of the current situation.”

Talking to the Economist, Amodei said the memo did not reflect a very “considered or refined” version of his thinking. When asked if he would apologise to Trump, the Claude maker explained, “I've apologised to the people that I'm talking to…I'm happy to speak to others within the administration as well.”

While the AI startup boss said his company was doing “everything we can to de-escalate” the situation with the Pentagon, it would still challenge the designation in court.

Anthropic signed a $200 million contract with the Department of Defense in July, becoming the first AI lab to integrate its models into mission workflows on classified networks. But its concerns over the potential use of its model Claude in fully autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance led to tensions with the Pentagon.

Anthropic rival and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced his company had signed a deal with the US Department of Defense hours after Anthropic was blacklisted on Friday. 

In an internal memo first reported by Information, Amodei slammed OpenAI's messaging as "straight up lies," accusing Sam Altman of falsely "presenting himself as a peacemaker and dealmaker". The Anthropic boss also described OpenAI's dealings with the Department of Defense as "safety theatre.”

While he initially accused Altman of accepting a weaker contract, Amodei later told The Economist  that the ChatGPT creator may have “improved” terms of the contract and held out hope that they could find common ground. 

In an internal memo first reported by Information, Amodei slammed OpenAI's messaging as "straight up lies," accusing Sam Altman of falsely "presenting himself as a peacemaker and dealmaker". The Anthropic boss also described OpenAI's dealings with the Department of Defense as "safety theatre.”

While he initially accused Altman of accepting a weaker contract, Amodei later told The Economist that the ChatGPT creator may have “improved” terms of the contract since, and held out hope that they could find common ground.