Pentagon says US military to be an 'AI-first' fighting force

The US military plans to increase its use of artificial intelligence (AI) further after the Pentagon agreedto new and expanded contracts with some of the biggest names in technology.

Under eight agreements with Google, OpenAI, Amazon, Microsoft, SpaceX, Oracle, Nvidia and the start-up Reflection, the Pentagon said AI technology would now be used for any "lawful operational use".

"These agreements accelerate the transformation [of] the US military as an AI-first fighting force," the Pentagon said.

Conspicuous by its absence is Anthropic,as the company has said it is concerned about how the Pentagon could use its tools in warfare and domestically.

The firm is now suing the government over the alleged retaliation it faced after refusing to accept "any lawful use" language in its own contract.

The Pentagon on Friday noted that partnering with so many companies on AI would help it avoid "vendor lock" or being too reliant on a single company for its technology.

"Access to a diverse suite of AI capabilities from across the resilient American technology stack will give warfighters the tools they need to act with confidence and safeguard the nation against any threat," the Pentagon said.

It noted that more than a million people across the defence department had used the military's AI platform which hosts the tools since it was launched last year, helping them cut the time it took for many tasks "from months to days".

Access to powerful technology has become a key component of success in warfare and the Pentagon has been working to build up its AI capabilities for several years.

Anthropic's tools, including a version of its Claude chatbot, are still currently in use in many US government and defence agencies, as it was the first AI company to be deployed for classified work.

But earlier this year the relationship broke down as Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei went public with fears that powerful AI tools could be used by defence agencies to conduct mass domestic surveillance and to deploy fully autonomous weapons of war.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth moved within days to label Anthropic a "supply chain risk" meaning it was deemed too dangerous for use in government settings.

Anthropic's legal challenge to that ruling is expected to go to court in September.

In the meantime the row appears to have opened the door for other AI companies to work more closely with the government and military.