The new emails, disclosed in a court filing late Tuesday as part of the continuing litigation between the Defense Department and Anthropic, document how the relationship initially soured. They offer a deeper look into the flurry of communication between the company and the government before Anthropic was labeled a supply-chain risk and Pentagon partners were effectively barred from using its technology in their work with the Defense Department.
Here’s a look at the emails:
Jan. 14, from Michael to Amodei
The dispute centered on Anthropic’s opposition to the use of its models in domestic surveillance and AI-powered weapons, given the rapid pace of advancement in its models. The Pentagon insisted that it must have flexibility to make its own national-security decisions and should be able to use Anthropic’s model Claude as it saw fit.
Michael reached out to Amodei in January to check in after the holidays following weeks of delay in the negotiations, which had been ongoing since late last year. Amodei’s illness in December helped set the talks back.
