alt Hacker NewsThey'll for sure cave in because of this:
> Pentagon officials also warned they would either use the Defense Production Act against Anthropic, or designate Anthropic a supply chain risk if the company didn’t comply with their demands. (...)
> The supply chain risk designation is usually reserved for companies seen as extensions of foreign adversaries like Russia or China. It could severely impact Anthropic’s business because enterprise customers with government contracts would have to make sure their government work doesn’t touch Anthropic’s tools.
Also, the Government money would be a nice bonus, of course, but basically this is an existential threat for Anthropic.
More generally, is quite interesting to look at the similarities between how pre-2022 Russia was seen and how pre-Trump-second-term US used to be seen until not that long ago, i.e. both governments were believed to be run by big business (oligarchs in Russia, big corps/multinationals in the US).
But when push came to shove it became evident (again) that the one that holds the monopoly of violence (i.e. not the oligarchs in Russia, nor the big corps in the US) is the one who's, in the end, also calling the shots. Hence why a company like Anthropic is now in this position, they will have to cave in to those holding the monopoly of violence.
Replies
> this is an existential threat for Anthropic.
Not at all. A US Govt. ban hands Anthrophic a great USP for customers worldwide.
Cwn someone explain to me like I'm 5 how the government would invoke defense act and force the company to tailor its model to the military's needs?
For physical goods, I understand, but for software how exactly Is this possible? Like will the government force them to provide API access for free? It's confusing
> pre-2022 Russia was seen and how pre-Trump-second-term US used to be seen until not that long ago, i.e. both governments were believed to be run by big business
Who on earth believed that Russia was anything but a de facto dictatorship for roughly the past two decades? Putin murdering with impunity has been a running gag since 2003[1].
[1] https://www.newsweek.com/putin-critics-dead-full-list-navaln...
> Also, the Government money would be a nice bonus, of course, but basically this is an existential threat for Anthropic.
It's also an existential risk to them if they cave in. What is the point of the company's existence if it's just another immoral OpenAI clone? May as well merge the companies for efficiency.
It's outrageous that the government is using the "supply chain risk" threat as a negotiating tactic. I know, I know, for the current administration it's unsurprising, but this is straightforward abuse of authority. There is no defensible claim that using Anthropic is a risk to anyone not trying to use it for murder or surveillance. At worst, it could be seen as less effective for some purpose, but that is not what "supply chain risk" means.
Could be challenged in court? As in, could a challenge win?
Horrible stuff is happening every day, so outrage fatigue is real. Still, try not to normalize it. Explain to yourself exactly why something is or is not a problem, before moving on to attempt to live your life.