Google grants U.S. Department of Defense access to its AI for classified networks, following Anthropic's refusal of the same terms

Google has granted the U.S. Department of Defense access to its AI for classified networks, essentially allowing all lawful uses. This follows Anthropic's public refusal to grant the DoD unrestricted use without guardrails against domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.

Google's agreement includes language stating it does not intend for its AI to be used for domestic mass surveillance or in autonomous weapons, according to The Wall Street Journal, though it remains unclear whether such provisions are legally binding or enforceable.

Google entered this deal despite 950 of its employees signing an open letter asking the company to follow Anthropic's lead and not sell AI to the Defense Department without similar guardrails. OpenAI and xAI have also signed deals with the DoD.