Anthropic President Daniela Amodei questioned whether rival OpenAI’s choice to strike a deal with the Pentagon after her company refused to budge on army AI restrictions was a “really principled stand” or an “opportunistic moment,” according to an unique interview excerpt obtained by The Post.
Amodei made the pointed remarks during a joint interview with her brother, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, performed by biographer Walter Isaacson for his podcast “The Builders.”
The interview is scheduled to air Tuesday.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that permitting one particular person to control an military of a million AI-powered robots or drones could undermine democracy. SHAWN THEW/EPA/Shutterstock
“Was this a really principled stand that another technology company took based on their own ethics, or was this an opportunistic moment?” Daniela requested when Isaacson pressed the siblings about OpenAI stepping in after Anthropic’s bitter showdown with the Trump administration.
The feedback marked a contemporary jab at OpenAI amid an escalating rivalry between two of Silicon Valley’s greatest artificial intelligence firms.
“Our view is, look, we can’t control any other companies, and the only thing that we can do is take a principled stand on the areas that felt ethically correct to us,” Daniela said.
She acknowledged that other firms could moderately disagree with Anthropic’s restrictions, including whether they should have been stricter or more permissive.
The remarks come as Anthropic prepares for a blockbuster initial public offering, submitting paperwork Monday to listing its shares on the Nasdaq under the ticker image “ANT,” according to Wired.
Anthropic President Daniela Amodei questioned whether rival OpenAI acted opportunistically when it struck a deal with the Pentagon following her company’s standoff with the Trump administration. Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Claude chatbot maker disclosed income of more than $16 billion and a internet loss of $80.7 million in the first half of 2026, in contrast with a $13 billion loss during the same period last 12 months, the outlet reported.
Its prospectus also flagged the company’s bruising confrontation with the Trump administration as a business risk, warning that ongoing litigation could undermine gross sales to authorities companies and federal contractors.
The dispute erupted in February when Anthropic refused to abandon restrictions on utilizing its AI fashions for mass home surveillance and absolutely autonomous deadly weapons.
Pentagon officers insisted that protection contractors must allow their technology to be deployed for “all lawful uses,” arguing that personal firms shouldn’t have the energy to dictate army operations.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s company struck a deal with the Pentagon after rival Anthropic refused to abandon its restrictions on army AI. Getty Images
President Trump subsequently ordered federal companies to stop utilizing Anthropic’s merchandise, while the Pentagon designated the company a supply-chain risk.
OpenAI later reached its own settlement with the Pentagon, allowing broad lawful makes use of of its technology while retaining safeguards governing surveillance and human control of weapons systems.
The company has maintained that its Pentagon settlement consists of specific restrictions barring the use of its technology for mass home surveillance, directing autonomous weapons systems and making high-stakes automated selections.
The dangerous blood between the two AI giants dates to 2021, when Dario and Daniela left OpenAI and based Anthropic amid disagreements over security, company governance and the company’s more and more business direction.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon clashed with Anthropic after the AI company refused to abandon restrictions on mass home surveillance and absolutely autonomous weapons. REUTERS
The feud turned particularly nasty during the Pentagon showdown in March, when Dario reportedly blasted OpenAI’s account of its army deal as “straight up lies” and “safety theater” in a leaked inner message. He later apologized for the tone of his remarks but stood by Anthropic’s place.
Anthropic challenged the administration’s actions in federal court, successful a favorable ruling in California in August before a separate federal appeals court in Washington upheld a Pentagon exclusion the following month.
The company sought a rehearing of the latter choice earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Dario defended Anthropic’s refusal to allow absolutely autonomous weapons, warning Isaacson that artificial intelligence could pose a basic menace to democracy even if the technology turned dependable enough to operate without human supervision.
The Anthropic boss envisioned a future in which one particular person could command an military of a million AI-powered robots or drones, without the checks offered by human troopers.
Unlike AI fashions, troopers can refuse orders that violate the Constitution or appear “morally abhorrent,” he instructed Isaacson.
AI fashions, he argued, don’t present the same safety.
The prospect of “one person having their finger on a button that controls a million robots or a million drones” is “kind of fundamentally undermining to democracy,” Dario warned.
The Post has sought remark from OpenAI and the Pentagon.
