In March 2026, Anthropic, an artificial intelligence laboratory based in the United States, brought a lawsuit against the Pentagon in a federal court in California, aiming to prevent its inclusion on a national security supply chain risk list. Earlier, the Pentagon had concluded that Anthropic and its products posed a risk to the U.S. supply chain. This was because Anthropic refused to permit the military to utilize its AI models for the development of fully autonomous weapons and mass surveillance systems.

Anthropic contends that the Pentagon's decision is devoid of a legal foundation and infringes upon the rights to free speech and due process. The lab has requested the court to overturn the Pentagon's determination and forbid federal agencies from implementing any related restrictions. This legal move signifies a significant escalation in the intense strategic interaction—akin to a high - stakes game or contest—between Anthropic and the U.S. military regarding the limitations on the use of AI technology.