Department of Commerce Restrictions on Anthropic Threaten Pentagon AI Capabilities, Experts Warn

WASHINGTON — A recent regulatory crackdown by the Commerce Department on Anthropic has intensified the friction between the AI developer and the Pentagon. Analysts noted that the move complicates an already strained relationship, as the defense establishment has been simultaneously banning most Anthropic products while granting specific exemptions for its sophisticated new model, Mythos.

On Friday, the Commerce Department designated Anthropic’s Mythos/Fable 5 as a cyber weapon subject to strict export controls. This classification makes it illegal for Anthropic to provide the technology to any foreign national, including its own international staff. The decision follows reports that Amazon informed the government it had identified a method to bypass Anthropic’s safety protocols, potentially exposing the model’s advanced bug-hunting capabilities to unauthorized actors, including the NSA.

In response, Anthropic suspended all public access to its services late Friday, arguing it lacked the technical ability to distinguish between domestic and foreign users in its public interface. While the company maintains that its safeguards remain largely effective and the vulnerability is repairable, senior executives have reportedly traveled to Washington, D.C., to negotiate a resolution.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth utilized the Commerce ruling to bolster his public criticisms of Anthropic, labeling the company as unreliable and irresponsible.

“Three months ago, @DeptofWar kicked @AnthropicAI out of our building—forever,” he posted on X.com Saturday, using the informal name for the Department. “Every passing day proves why that was the right move.”

However, an X.com “community note” quickly contested the accuracy of the statement.

The ban issued by Hegseth and President Donald Trump in late February did not take effect immediately; instead, the administration implemented a six-month phase-out period. This delay acknowledged the heavy reliance of various defense agencies on Anthropic’s Claude model for high-speed coding and strategic planning tasks related to regional conflicts.

During this transition, Anthropic began testing Mythos, a model recognized for its exceptional ability to identify software vulnerabilities—a capability highly valued for both offensive and defensive cyber operations. Reports suggest the National Security Agency had begun integrating Mythos into offensive missions even as the administration moved to phase out the company’s services.

A recent National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-11) formalized this contradictory policy. While the memo instructs agencies to terminate contracts with uncooperative AI firms, it also includes a limited waiver process for contracts deemed essential to protecting United States national security.

Expert Analysis and Warnings

According to industry experts and published reports, the “preview” version of Mythos currently utilized by the NSA is expected to remain unaffected by the public service shutdown. Nevertheless, the escalating conflict between Anthropic and the administration may have significant repercussions for the Pentagon, particularly regarding two ongoing lawsuits filed by the company.

Jessica Tillipman, associate dean at the George Washington University Law School, explained that the Commerce Department’s declaration does not alter the legal foundation of these cases, as they target “supply chain risk” designations rather than export restrictions. However, she noted that the ruling provides strategic leverage for both parties: the government may use it to argue Anthropic is a security risk, while Anthropic may claim it is being unfairly targeted.

Jack Shanahan, former head of Project Maven and the Joint AI Center, warned that imposing export controls amidst existing bans and aggressive political rhetoric could be perceived as politically motivated. The retired three-star general suggested this could damage the administration’s relationship with the broader technology sector, which is vital for military innovation.

“Even if I take, at face value, the claim that Amazon found a way to jailbreak the latest Anthropic models and hence this is a legitimate national security concern, it still smacks of an ongoing vendetta against Anthropic and Dario personally,” Shanahan said, referring to CEO Dario Amodei. “Even the companies who are in the administration’s good graces for the time being will see the ramifications of this latest order: the ability to do major damage to their business models at the drop of a hat.”

The cessation of Mythos/Fable 5 access was abrupt. “I was using it at five o’clock and then, at eight o’clock, it was offline,” noted Charlie Bullock of the Institute for Law & AI.

Bullock informed Breaking Defense that while the Commerce Department did not explicitly demand a cutoff for U.S. users, Anthropic found it impossible to segregate users within its public product, leaving a total shutdown as the only viable option. This move occurred despite the administration’s awareness of the company’s operational constraints.

Both Bullock and Shanahan observed that Anthropic and the Pentagon had recently been moving toward a state of cooperation.

“Mythos was such a useful tool that the rest of the government was kind of quietly walking back what the Department of War had done,” Bullock said, noting previous presidential comments suggesting a willingness to work with the company.

Shanahan added that Amodei’s recent communications appeared designed to demonstrate a commitment to government partnership, though he noted these efforts seem to be failing.

The retired general concluded that the primary danger is that this dispute distracts from the larger challenge of emerging technology. “It will be a few months, at most, before there are open-source versions of the kinds of capabilities these latest Anthropic models are offering,” Shanahan warned. “We are not prepared for this. It’s going to happen. When it does, all the White House memos, directives, executive orders, and export control directives could be obsolete by the time they hit the street.”

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