The U.S. military used Anthropic's Claude artificial intelligence model over the weekend in connection with its attack on Iran and continues to use the technology, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The Pentagon has not detailed how the AI tool is being deployed, CBS News reported Tuesday.
The continued use comes despite a directive from President Donald Trump ordering federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's technology and giving them six months to phase it out.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has declared the company a supply chain risk.
The dispute escalated last week after Anthropic sought to impose guardrails that would explicitly prohibit the military from using Claude for mass surveillance of Americans or to power fully autonomous weapons systems.
In response, Pentagon officials demanded the ability to use the AI system for "all lawful purposes."
They maintained that Anthropic's concerns were not material because mass surveillance of Americans by the military is already illegal, and internal War Department policies restrict the use of fully autonomous weapons.
"At some level, you have to trust your military to do the right thing," said Emil Michael, the Pentagon's chief technology officer.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told CBS News the company sought to draw "red lines" around the government's use of its technology because "we believe that crossing those lines is contrary to American values, and we wanted to stand up for American values."
"Disagreeing with the government is the most American thing in the world," Amodei said. "And we are patriots. In everything we have done here, we have stood up for the values of this country."
Despite the administration's order, replacing Claude may not be immediate.
Defense One, citing sources familiar with the War Department's dispute with Anthropic, reported that it could take three months or longer for the Pentagon to replace Claude's capabilities with another AI platform.
Michael told CBS News that the Department of War uses Claude to synthesize documents and improve logistics and supply chain efficiency, among other functions. The Pentagon has not indicated whether those functions were related to the Iran operation.
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