Washington: Anthropic PBC was among the artificial intelligence companies that submitted a proposal earlier this year to compete in a $100 million Pentagon prize challenge to produce technology for voice-controlled, autonomous drone swarming, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company made the submission during fraught negotiations with the Defense Department over Anthropic’s red lines for how its technology was to be used by the military, according to the people, who asked not to be named to discuss sensitive matters. On Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Pentagon to bar its contractors and their partners from any commercial activity with Anthropic.
The role that AI could play in efforts to develop so-called killer robots that can select and fire at targets without human involvement is at the heart of the high-stakes bust-up. Executives at the $380 billion company have repeatedly insisted they support the extensive lawful use of AI in combat, short only of mass domestic surveillance and “fully autonomous weapons.”
Anthropic didn’t think developing the technology would cross its red line, according to one of the people. Although the effort could ultimately create lethal drone swarms, a human would still be able to monitor and stop the system if necessary, according to the person.
Anthropic’s submission focused on using its Claude AI tool to translate a commander’s intent into digital instructions and to coordinate a fleet of drones, according to the person. It didn’t use AI for autonomous targeting or weapons decisions, the person said.
Humans would also have oversight of the system, and the company wanted to establish a joint research program to collaborate with the Pentagon on safely developing and evaluating autonomous weapons capabilities, the person added.
The prize challenge is a research and development effort set to develop in five phases, starting with developing software and progressing to real-life testing, Bloomberg has previously reported. A defense official indicated in the January announcement of the contest that the drones will be used for offensive purposes, saying the human-machine interaction “will directly impact the lethality and effectiveness of these systems.”
The first phase of the competition would focus only on software development, before using live platforms later. The software is intended to coordinate drone movements across multiple domains, such as by air and sea, according to a Pentagon description of the task. Later stages call for developing “target-related awareness and sharing” and ultimately “launch to termination.”
Anthropic wasn’t among the companies selected, according to the people. Bloomberg couldn’t immediately identify the reason.
Anthropic, which has argued AI is not yet sufficiently ready or reliable enough to run autonomous weapons systems, declined to comment.
The prize challenge for drone swarm technology was jointly launched by Special Operations Command, which runs the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, and the Defense Innovation Unit. Neither agency responded to requests for comment.
A proposal from SpaceX and xAI was among the successful submissions.
Two bids from defense technology companies that list Anthropic’s rival OpenAI as a partner on the AI component were also selected. That included one submission led by Applied Intuition Inc., a defense contractor that makes autonomous vehicles.
OpenAI’s technology would be used in “mission control” to help translate voice commands into digital instructions, according to a Bloomberg review of the submission. A spokesperson for OpenAI said any support the company would provide would stay within the company’s usage policies.
Hours after the Pentagon moved to sideline Anthropic, OpenAI announced that it had struck a new agreement with the Defense Department to use the company’s AI tools on classified cloud systems, Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman announced on Friday. The deal would require “human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems,” he said.
While it’s already possible to fly multiple drones at once, developing the software to direct multiple drones on sea and in the air as a swarm — which can move autonomously in pursuit of a target — remains a challenge. The contest will progress in phases, depending on the success and interest of the participants, the people said.
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.