Amazon, Google and Microsoft strengthen Anthropic's position
For civilian projects, Claude and Co. can continue to be used, say tech giants.
The letters AI fly around hooks and warning triangles.
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After products from Anthropic for applications in the field of national security and military were classified as a “security risk” by the Pentagon by the Pentagon, Amazon, Google and Microsoft are strengthening the AI startup. The companies emphasized independently that their customers can continue to use Claude and other tools from Anthropic with the tools from Google and Microsoft.
This is reported by CNBC, citing statements from spokespersons for the two companies. First, Microsoft spoke out on Thursday, “after a review by our lawyers,” for Anthropic access to remain available through its offerings. This applies to all Microsoft customers except the Pentagon. On Friday, Google followed, also wanting to offer Claude and Co. via its cloud services for “non-military” projects. Amazon intends to do the same.
Anthropic remains firm
The US Department of Defense officially classified Anthropic's products as a “supply chain risk” on Friday. This had previously only been done for foreign companies like Huawei. This followed a long-escalated dispute over the Pentagon's use of Anthropic tools. The software company wanted to exclude mass surveillance of US citizens and autonomous weapon systems from military use with its products. The ministry was unwilling to agree to this and gave Anthropic an ultimatum that expired on Friday. Other providers, such as OpenAI and xAI, reportedly had fewer concerns, according to media reports.
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According to the current regulation, the ban only applies to the Department of Defense, not to all government contractors. This is likely another reason why Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have now endeavored to reassure their customers – numerous projects, including for public bodies, are likely already being developed with Claude. Not only Anthropic, but also the three tech giants face high losses if customers now switch platforms. Anthropic, for its part, intends to legally challenge the classification as a security risk.
(nie)
