Don't Worry About the Vase Podcast Anthropic vs. DoW #5: Motions Filed
9 snips
Mar 18, 2026 A legal clash over government demands and vendor rights takes center stage. Sealed risk assessments, amicus briefs, and aggressive government filings are dissected. The conversation raises alarms about procurement law, retaliation for protected speech, and chilling effects on AI safety research. Broader risks to civil rights enforcement and future automated censorship are explored.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Two Central Questions Driving The Case
- The core legal questions are who ultimately wins and whether Anthropic can get a temporary restraining order (TRO).
- Zvi explains that the TRO bar is higher and the March 24 hearing will decide if injunctive relief blocks the DoW supply chain risk designation.
Government Argues Conduct Risk And Keeps Assessment Secret
- The government's brief frames Anthropic's conduct (not speech) as creating operational sabotage risk and defends a broad supply chain designation.
- Zvi notes the government refused to narrow scope, seeks to keep its vendor assessment sealed, and offered no amici support.
Ruling Could Weaponize Procurement Against Guardrails
- If the government's theory holds, any vendor with ethical usage limits could be labeled a supply chain risk and subject to the same treatment.
- Zvi and Alan argue this would displace procurement law and let the DoW wield sweeping leverage over AI suppliers.