Pentagon opens door to exempt Anthropic use beyond 6-month ramp-down, memo says

The Pentagon has told its senior leaders that use of Anthropic’s AI ​tools may continue beyond a previously announced six-month phase-out period if deemed ‌critical to national security, according to an ​internal memo

The Pentagon has told its senior leaders that use of Anthropic’s AI ​tools may continue beyond a previously announced six-month phase-out period if deemed ‌critical to national security, according to an ​internal memo seen by Reuters.

The memo is dated ⁠March 6 and signed by Pentagon Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies. It says the exemptions can be authorised “in rare and extraordinary ‌circumstances” and “will only be considered for mission-critical activities directly supporting national security operations where no ‌viable alternative exists.”

Any Pentagon unit seeking an exemption must ‌submit ⁠a comprehensive risk mitigation plan for approval, according ⁠to the document, first reported by CBS News.

The Pentagon confirmed the memo but declined to comment further. Anthropic did not immediately respond to ​a request for comment.

An expert ‌said the carve-out signals how challenging it will be to implement the ban on Anthropic.

The memo is a “recognition of the fact that it’s really hard for ‌most vendors to certify they have removed the ​company from the entirety of their supply chain,” said Franklin Turner, a government contracts lawyer at ⁠McCarter & English. For instance, contractors may find it difficult to ensure their software is free of any open-source code ‌originating from Anthropic, he said.