The Pentagon fights human battles over military control of artificial intelligence in the new Cold War
The AI has moved the laboratory to the kill chain.
and A confrontation between the Minister of War There is no contract dispute between Pete Hegseth and the artificial intelligence company Anthropic. It’s the opening battle over who controls the most powerful military technology of the 21st century.
Artificial intelligence has already begun to transform warfare
Look at Ukraine.
Humanitarian command rejected War Department demands to use AI for “all lawful purposes” after Maduro raid. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters: Ahikam Siri/AFP via Getty Images)
Western officials report that drones now account for approximately 70% to 80% of battlefield casualties in that war. But the real revolution happens when artificial intelligence is added. Reports indicate that AI-guided navigation could increase drone strike accuracy from 10-20% to 70-80%.
This is not a gradual change. This is a shift in battlefield lethality.
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The same dynamic appears in US operations involving Iran and other theaters. AI tools are used to analyze intelligence, improve targeting, pattern recognition and operational simulation. These systems compress time, reduce uncertainty, and speed up decisions.
Artificial intelligence is not theoretical. It’s practical.
Which brings us to Washington.
What is the truth about the confrontation between Hegseth and Anthropy?
On February 27, Hegseth was appointed Anthropy “Supply Chain Risk For national security.” President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Claude’s AI model after Anthropic refused to remove two roadblocks:
Ban autonomous weapons completely.
Ban on the block Home monitoring.
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The AI has moved the laboratory to the kill chain.
The Pentagon says military commanders should be able to use AI tools for all legitimate defense purposes without obtaining permission from a private company in real time.
Anthropic argues that removing safeguards could enable independent killing regimes or unconstitutional domestic espionage.
Both concerns are valid.
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But here lies the deeper problem: America has outsourced strategic control of its most sensitive military algorithms to private contractors.
Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei speaks at the “How AI Will Transform Business in the Next 18 Months” panel during INBOUND 2025 powered by HubSpot at the Moscone Center on September 4, 2025, in San Francisco, California. (Chance Yeh/Getty Images for HubSpot)
This is not sustainable.
Draw the right line
Let me be clear about what shouldn’t happen.
We must not expand domestic surveillance of American citizens under the slogan of efficient artificial intelligence. The Fourth Amendment is not disappearing in the age of algorithms.
Second, we must keep people in the killing chain. You served under legal command authority. Life and death decisions carry moral responsibility. It cannot be completely delegated to autonomous systems.
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Those are fixed limits.
But here are the other limits: No private company should exercise veto power over how America defends itself.
Contractor addiction in Washington
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For decades, the federal government has become dependent on… Contractors for critical defense jobs – Logistics, cyber infrastructure, analytics and intelligence support. Artificial intelligence is simply the next frontier in this pattern.
But frontier AI models are not spare parts or uniforms. It is strategic infrastructure. They influence targeting, operational tempo, and modeling potential deterrence.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, founder of the Mila-Quebec AI Institute and professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley, Stuart Russell takes the oath of office during a hearing before the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on July 25, 2023, in Washington, DC. The Subcommittee held a hearing on “Artificial Intelligence Oversight: Principles for Regulation.” (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
This level of sensitivity cannot remain under corporate ownership.
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During World War II, the United States built the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project under centralized national authority. They were not governed by project-supported boards that established independent employment policies. It was directed by the US government with a clear strategic mandate.
We need a similar mindset for our most sensitive AI systems.
The government must own the basic military algorithms. Don’t rent to them. Don’t subscribe to them. Own them.
The United States needs to break the Chinese supply chain stranglehold to win the technology race
AI tools are used to analyze intelligence, improve targeting, pattern recognition and operational simulation. These systems compress time, reduce uncertainty, and speed up decisions.
If artificial intelligence is the new strategic high ground, America cannot subcontract the high ground.
China does not hesitate
As I claim in “The New Cold War of Artificial Intelligence” Beijing is not struggling With these dilemmas.
China integrates the development of artificial intelligence directly with the state. There are no Silicon Valley executives in Beijing who reject military intervention. AI is treated as national infrastructure.
Russia and other countries are moving in similar directions. They do not discuss internal guardrails during field testing of AI-enabled systems.
Strategic competition doesn’t stop while you sue over contract language.
America must respond with a united front to China’s massive economic war
What should happen next?
First, Congress should draw bright lines: No AI-powered mass domestic surveillance of Americans without strict constitutional safeguards.
Second, codify meaningful human control over lethal force decisions.
America must support AI with speed and discipline, or China will dominate
Third – and most importantly – building sovereign capabilities in the field of artificial intelligence within the government.
This means:
- Government-controlled artificial intelligence research for secret applications
- Government ownership of core defense algorithms
- Reduce reliance on private border laboratories for sensitive military systems
- Long-term pipelines of purged AI engineers
Anthropic argues that removing safeguards could enable independent killing regimes or unconstitutional domestic espionage.
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Private industry will continue to innovate. But America’s most sensitive tools of war cannot remain dependent on companies whose corporate policies can override national defense requirements.
The real issue is sovereignty
The dispute between the Pentagon and anthropology is not about personalities. It is about sovereignty.
Who controls the algorithms that guide American power?
Who owns the code?
Who decides how to use it?
Minister of Energy: The Trump administration’s top scientific priority is artificial intelligence
In the new cold war of AI, power will belong to those who control the models – not just those who rent access to them.
America must protect freedom. We must reject AI-driven domestic surveillance. We must maintain human moral accountability when using force.
First, Congress should draw bright lines: No AI-powered mass domestic surveillance of Americans without strict constitutional safeguards.
But we must also end the illusion that venture-backed companies can serve as key guards of national defense.
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The AI cold war is not hypothetical. It is unfolding on battlefields abroad and in political battles at home.
This moment is not related to one company. It’s about whether the United States will treat AI as strategic national infrastructure — or as a contracted service.
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The answer will be formed The next generation of warfare.
History will not wait for us to decide.
Click here to read more from Robert Maggins
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