Pentagon flags Anthropic’s foreign workforce as security risk in court filing

The Pentagon warned that the artificial intelligence (AI) firm Anthropic’s use of foreign workers poses national security risks, according to a court filing.

In a March 17 declaration, Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said employing foreign nationals, including many from China, “increases the degree of adversarial risk” should these employees comply with China’s National Intelligence Law.

The filing is part of the government’s response to Anthropic’s lawsuit challenging its designation as a “supply chain risk.”

The designation followed the collapse of negotiations over a $200 million contract to deploy Anthropic’s AI systems on classified military platforms.

Anthropic said it opposed the use of its technology for mass surveillance of US citizens or for autonomous lethal weapons.

The Pentagon has ordered the removal of Anthropic’s technology from defense systems within 180 days.

Anthropic is seeking to block the designation and related restrictions. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for March 24.