The recent shuffle between OpenAI, Anthropic, and the US Department of Defense or the Department of War (DoW), as it is now called, brought to light how innovation in technology can have far-reaching effects. It also highlights the classic conundrum of regulation and policy trying to keep up with technology advancement.<\/p>\n
In the span of a week, Anthropic rubbed off the DoW the wrong way when it said that the US government shouldn\u2019t be using its tools for \u201call lawful purposes\u201d since it was not built into the initial contract.<\/p>\n
Anthropic is the first AI frontier lab to sign a deal, reportedly worth $200 million, with the DoW for use of its AI tools. However, what Anthropic did not anticipate was the use of its technology for mass surveillance and control of autonomous weapons without any human oversight.<\/p>\n
The refusal to back down on the issue led the US government to deem Anthropic a \u201csupply chain risk for national security\u201d and ban it from use by federal agencies.
Close on the heels of this, OpenAI signed a similar contract with DoW, claiming the safeguards in place ensure that its technology is not used for the purposes highlighted by Anthropic. However, CEO Sam Altman admitted only days later that the contract opened up OpenAI\u2019s tech for use for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, pushing it to redraw its contract.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Anthropic\u2019s technology was used for the raid that captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and more recently, in the war between US and Iran.<\/p>\n