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Bianca Baggiarini, Lecturer, International Relations, Deakin University

The Pentagon strongarmed AI firms before Iran strikes – in dark news for the future of ‘ethical AI’

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (left) and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei (right) at an AI summit in India in February 2026. Ludovic Marin / Getty Images

In the leadup to the weekend’s US and Israeli attacks on Iran, the US Department of Defense was locked in tense negotiations with artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic over exactly how the Pentagon could use the firm’s technology.

Anthropic wanted guarantees its Claude systems would not be used for purposes such as domestic surveillance in the US and operating autonomous weapons without human control.

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