Anthropic's CEO Built an AI With Ethics. The Pentagon Just Told Him to Drop Them.
Podcast: The Rip CurrentPublished On: Tue Feb 24 2026
Description: This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theripcurrent.comDario Amodei is the rare tech CEO who actually tried to set limits on what his AI could be used for. He published an 80-page constitution telling the world what Claude is supposed to value. He wrote a 20,000-word essay warning about what happens when AI companies accumulate too much power. Now the Pentagon has summoned him and delivered an ultimatum: drop your restrictions on autonomous weapons and mass surveillance, or lose the contract.Here’s a detail that must have been particularly triggering to Amodei:
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