Google said on Tuesday that it had signed a deal to provide the Pentagon with its artificial intelligence models for classified work, amid a dispute with Anthropic over how to responsibly use the technology during war.
The agreement allows the Pentagon to use Google’s A.I. for “any lawful governmental purpose,” people with knowledge of the deal said. The language mirrored that of other deals that the Department of Defense struck last month with OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI to use their A.I. models on classified networks, said people who had reviewed the contracts.
“We are proud to be part of a broad consortium of leading A.I. labs and technology and cloud companies providing A.I. services and infrastructure in support of national security,” said Jenn Crider, a Google spokeswoman. “We remain committed to the private and public sector consensus that A.I. should not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight.”
Google declined to comment on contractual details. The Pentagon declined to comment. The Information earlier reported details of the deal.
The Pentagon has moved aggressively to secure agreements with Silicon Valley’s biggest A.I. companies since January, when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the technology should be widely integrated across the military.
The move has led to friction between the Pentagon and some Silicon Valley companies over the role of technology in war. Anthropic, the start-up whose A.I. technology was first used on classified networks, refused to remove guardrails against using its A.I. for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance. The Pentagon countered that a company should not be telling it how to use A.I.
In March, the Pentagon designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk, a label that effectively banned the San Francisco company from working with the federal government. Anthropic has since sued the Pentagon over the designation, and is seeking to continue working with other parts of the federal government.
White House officials met with Anthropic about 10 days ago to discuss a compromise on how the company’s A.I. could be used by the government. This month, Anthropic released a powerful A.I. model called Mythos, which many believe could be critical for security.
Kate Congercontributed reporting.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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