Nine To Noon Tech: What is AI's role in the current conflict in Iran?
Mar 4, 2026
Marc Pesce, tech correspondent and futurist, explains Anthropic’s rise and the Pentagon standoff. He walks through DoD contract red lines, the supply-chain risk designation, and OpenAI’s rapid deal. Discussion covers AI’s role in target selection, surveillance and de-anonymisation, and worrying biometric and social-media innovations.
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Anthropic Chose Safety Over Certain Defence Uses
- Anthropic split from OpenAI in 2020 to prioritise safety and built products that began outperforming OpenAI for business AI use cases.
- They contractually forbade mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, signalling a safety-first tradeoff against lucrative defence work.
Pentagon Issued Ultimatum Threatening Supply Chain Risk
- The Pentagon gave Anthropic an ultimatum: accept two red-line contract clauses or face being declared a supply chain risk or seizure under the Defense Production Act.
- Marc Pesce compared a potential supply chain risk designation to the Huawei case and said the DPA could allow government takeover of company assets.
OpenAI Took The Deal Anthropic Refused
- After the deadline, the U.S. declared Anthropic a supply chain risk and ordered government departments to stop using its products, while OpenAI quickly agreed to the Pentagon's red lines and signed a deal.
- Marc Pesce highlighted the rapid switch and ensuing employee backlash at OpenAI, including resignations and a petition.