I spent decades in the Pentagon watching technology reshape warfare. I saw precision munitions change the battlefield. I saw satellites compressing decision cycles. But nothing compares to what is happening now.
Artificial intelligence has moved from the laboratory to the murder chain.
And the confrontation between Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and AI company Anthropic is not a contract dispute. It’s the opening battle over who controls the most powerful military technology of the 21st century.
AI is already transforming war
Look at Ukraine.
The anthropic leadership, after the Maduro raid, refused War Department demands to use its artificial intelligence for “all lawful purposes.” (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters:AHIKAM SERI/AFP via Getty Images)
Western officials report that drones now account for about 70-80% of battlefield casualties in that war. But the real revolution happens when AI is added. Reports show that AI-guided navigation can increase the accuracy of drone strikes from 10 to 20% to as much as 70 to 80%.
That is not an incremental change. That’s a transformation in battlefield lethality.
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The same dynamic is evident in U.S. operations involving Iran and other theaters. AI tools are used for intelligence analysis, targeting refinement, pattern recognition and operational simulations. These systems compress time, reduce uncertainty and speed up decisions.
AI is not theoretical. It’s operational.
Which brings us to Washington.
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What the Hegseth-Anthropic standoff is actually about
On February 27, Hegseth labeled Anthropic a “supply chain risk to national security.” President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using the Claude AI model after Anthropic refused to remove two guardrails:
A ban on fully autonomous weapons.
A ban on mass domestic surveillance.
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Artificial intelligence has moved from the laboratory to the murder chain.
The Pentagon says military commanders should be able to use AI tools for all legitimate defense purposes without seeking permission from a private company in real time.
Anthropic argues that removing safeguards could enable autonomous killing systems or unconstitutional domestic spying.
Both concerns are legitimate.
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But here’s the deeper problem: America has outsourced strategic control of its most sensitive military algorithms to private contractors.
Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei speaks on the panel “How AI Will Transform Business in the Next 18 Months” during INBOUND 2025 Powered by HubSpot at Moscone Center on September 4, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Chance Yeh/Getty Images for HubSpot)
That is untenable.
Draw the correct line
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Let me be clear about what should not happen.
We should not expand domestic surveillance of American citizens under the banner of AI efficiency. The Fourth Amendment is not going away in the age of algorithms.
Second, we need to keep a human in the chain of murder. I served under lawful orders. Life and death decisions involve moral responsibility. They cannot be fully delegated to autonomous systems.
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Those are hard limits.
But here’s the other line: No private company should have an effective veto over how America defends itself.
Washington’s contractor addiction
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For decades, the federal government has grown dependent on contractors for critical defense functions: logistics, cyber infrastructure, analytics and intelligence support. AI is simply the next frontier in that pattern.
But groundbreaking AI models are not spare parts or uniforms. They are strategic infrastructure. They influence targeting, operational tempo and possible deterrence models.
CEO of Anthropic Dario Amodei, founder of the Mila-Quebec AI Institute and professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, Stuart Russell is sworn in during a hearing before the Privacy, Technology, and the Law Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on July 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held a hearing on “Oversight of AI: Principles for Regulation.” (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
That level of sensitivity cannot remain under corporate ownership.
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During World War II, the United States built the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project under centralized national authority. It was not governed by venture capital-backed boards that established independent usage policies. It was led by the US government with a clear strategic mandate.
We need a similar mindset for our most sensitive AI systems.
The government must own the most important military algorithms. Don’t rent them. Don’t subscribe to them. Own them.
The US must break the Chinese supply chain chokehold to win the tech race
AI tools are used for intelligence analysis, targeting refinement, pattern recognition and operational simulations. These systems compress time, reduce uncertainty and speed up decisions.
If AI is the new top strategic area, America cannot outsource this top area.
China is not hesitating
As I argue “The New AI Cold War,” Beijing is not grappling with these dilemmas.
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China merges AI development directly to the state. There are no Silicon Valley executives in Beijing who deny military access. AI is treated as national infrastructure.
Russia and other countries are moving in similar directions. They don’t debate internal guardrails while field testing AI-based systems.
Strategic competition does not pause while we litigate contract language.
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What should be done next?
First, Congress must draw bright lines: no AI-enabled mass domestic surveillance of Americans without strict constitutional safeguards.
Second, codify meaningful human control over lethal force decisions.
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Third – and most critically – building sovereign AI capacity within government.
That means:
- Government-controlled AI research for secret applications
- Government ownership of nuclear defense algorithms
Anthropic argues that removing safeguards could enable autonomous killing systems or unconstitutional domestic spying.
Reduced reliance on private border laboratories for sensitive military systems
Long-term pipelines of approved AI engineers
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Private industry will continue to innovate. But America’s most sensitive instruments of war cannot remain dependent on corporations whose corporate policies can override national defense imperatives.
The real problem is sovereignty
The feud between the Pentagon and Anthropology is not about personalities. It’s about sovereignty.
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Who controls the algorithms that guide the US military?
Who owns the code?
Who decides how it is used?
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In the New AI Cold War, power will belong to those who control the models – not just those who provide access to them.
America must protect freedom. We must reject AI-driven domestic surveillance. We must preserve human moral responsibility in the use of force.
First, Congress must draw bright lines: no AI-enabled mass domestic surveillance of Americans without strict constitutional safeguards.
But we must also end the illusion that venture-backed companies can function as the ultimate gatekeepers of national defense.
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The AI Cold War is not hypothetical. It is unfolding on battlefields abroad and in policy battles at home.
This moment is not about one company. At issue is whether the United States will treat artificial intelligence as strategic national infrastructure – or as a contractual service.
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The answer will shape the next generation of warfare.
And history will not wait for us to decide.
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