Elizabeth Warren describes Pentagon’s decision to prevent humanitarian “retaliation.”

Anthropic is attracting a growing number of supporters in its fight against the US Department of Defense, which last month designated an artificial intelligence lab as a supply chain risk after it refused to compromise on how the military uses its artificial intelligence.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) equated the Defense Department’s decision to “retaliation,” arguing that the Pentagon could have simply terminated its contract with the AI ​​lab, CNBC reported.

“I am particularly concerned that the Department of Defense is trying to force American companies to provide the Department with the tools necessary to spy on American citizens and deploy fully autonomous weapons without adequate safeguards,” Warren wrote in the report, adding that the Anthropic ban “appears to be an act of retaliation.”

Warren’s words echo many other organizations that have spoken out against the Department of Defense’s treatment of humanity. Several technology companies and employees — including OpenAI, Google and Microsoft — as well as legal rights groups, have filed amicus briefs in support of Anthropic and condemning the designation, which is typically applied to foreign adversaries and not U.S. companies.

The dispute arose after Anthropic informed the Pentagon that it did not want its AI systems to be used for mass surveillance of Americans and that the technology was not ready for use in targeting or launching autonomous lethal weapons decisions without human intervention. The Pentagon objected that a private company should not dictate how the military uses technology, and soon after the Pentagon classified the company as a “supply chain risk.” This label requires any company or agency working with the Pentagon to certify that it does not use the designated company’s products or services – effectively preventing Anthropic from working with any company that also works with the US government.

Warren’s letter comes a day before a hearing in San Francisco on Tuesday, when District Judge Rita Lynn will decide whether to grant Anthropic a preliminary injunction seeking to maintain the status quo while its lawsuit against the Department of Defense proceeds.

While Anthropic is suing the Department of Defense for violating its First Amendment rights and to punish the company on ideological grounds, the Department of Defense has maintained that Anthropic’s refusal to allow all legitimate military uses of its technology was a business decision, not protected speech, and that the designation was a direct call to national security and not punishment for the company’s views.

The AI ​​Lab last week filed two declarations with the court claiming the government’s reasoning is flawed because it relies on technical misunderstandings as well as points of concern that were not raised during the company’s negotiations with the Department of Defense.

Warren also wrote to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, requesting details of the company’s agreement with the Department of Defense, which came just one day after the Pentagon blacklisted Anthropic.

Anthropic and the Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment.