Ben Killoy

I believe deeply in the existential importance of using AI to defend the United States and other democracies, and to defeat our autocratic adversaries. Anthropic has therefore worked proactively to deploy our models to the Department of War and the intelligence community. We were the first frontier AI company to deploy our models in the US government’s classified networks, the first to deploy them at the National Laboratories, and the first to provide custom models for national security customers. Claude is extensively deployed across the Department of War and other national security agencies for mission-critical applications, such as intelligence analysis, modeling and simulation, operational planning, cyber operations, and more. Anthropic has also acted to defend America’s lead in AI, even when it is against the company’s short-term interest. We chose to forgo several hundred million dollars in revenue to cut off the use of Claude by firms linked to the Chinese Communist Party (some of whom have been designated by the Department of War as Chinese Military Companies), shut down CCP-sponsored cyberattacks that attempted to abuse Claude, and have advocated for strong export controls on chips to ensure a democratic advantage. Anthropic understands that the Department of War, not private companies, makes military decisions. We have never raised objections to particular military operations nor attempted to limit use of our technology in an ad hoc manner.

However, in a narrow set of cases, we believe AI can undermine, rather than defend, democratic values. Some uses are also simply outside the bounds of what today’s technology can safely and reliably do. Two such use cases have never been included in our contracts with the Department of War, and we believe they should not be included now: Mass domestic surveillance. We support the use of AI for lawful foreign intelligence and counterintelligence missions. But using these systems for mass domestic surveillance is incompatible with democratic values. AI-driven mass surveillance presents serious, novel risks to our fundamental liberties. To the extent that such surveillance is currently legal, this is only because the law has not yet caught up with the rapidly growing capabilities of AI. For example, under current law, the government can purchase detailed records of Americans’ movements, web browsing, and associations from public sources without obtaining a warrant, a practice the Intelligence Community has acknowledged raises privacy concerns and that has generated bipartisan opposition in Congress. Powerful AI makes it possible to assemble this scattered, individually innocuous data into a comprehensive picture of any person’s life—automatically and at massive scale. Fully autonomous weapons. Partially autonomous weapons, like those used today in Ukraine, are vital to the defense of democracy. Even fully autonomous weapons (those that take humans out of the loop entirely and automate selecting and engaging targets) may prove critical for our national defense. But today, frontier AI systems are simply not reliable enough to power fully autonomous weapons. We will not knowingly provide a product that puts America’s warfighters and civilians at risk. We have offered to work directly with the Department of War on R&D to improve the reliability of these systems, but they have not accepted this offer. In addition, without proper oversight, fully autonomous weapons cannot b…

To our knowledge, these two exceptions have not been a barrier to accelerating the adoption and use of our models within our armed forces to date. The Department of War has stated they will only contract with AI companies who accede to “any lawful use” and remove safeguards in the cases mentioned above. They have threatened to remove us from their systems if we maintain these safeguards; they have also threatened to designate us a “supply chain risk”—a label reserved for US adversaries, never before applied to an American company—and to invoke the Defense Production Act to force the safeguards’ removal. These latter two threats are inherently contradictory: one labels us a security risk; the other labels Claude as essential to national security. Regardless, these threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request. It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision. But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider. Our strong preference is to continue to serve the Department and our warfighters—with our two requested safeguards in place. Should the Department choose to offboard Anthropic, we will work to enable a smooth transition to another provider, avoiding any disruption to ongoing military planning, operations, or other critical missions. Our models will be available on the expansive terms we have proposed for as long as required. We remain ready to continue our work to support the national security of the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Anthropic CEO says AI company 'cannot in good conscience accede' to Pentagon's demands to allow wider use of its tech.

Rep. Garcia: “This committee has now set a new precedent about talking to presidents and former presidents, and we’re demanding immediately that we ask President Trump to testify…He is the person who appears almost more than anyone else [in the files].”

Service member who got shot in DC. He Lived.

MS NOW's Ken Dilanian on Patel's USA hockey trip: "Nobody believes that Kash Patel would have been in that locker room had Donald Trump not made him the FBI director. It’s not like Kash Patel is famous on his own, so he clearly used his office to get this access and the taxpayers paid for the trip."

Lindsey graham sucks just so so much. Seriously, fuck this guy.

Kash Patel heads to Milan for the Olympics — on the FBI jet The FBI director has plans to watch the U.S. men’s hockey team vie for gold, sources tell MS NOW.

Breaking MS NOW:

FBI Director Kash Patel flew today on the FBI's Gulfstream jet bound for a trip to the winter Olympics in Italy to watch one of his favorite sports: men's ice hockey.

Patel's trip to Milan is likely to cost as much as $75,000. www.ms.now/news/kash-pa...

DOOCY: On Prince Andrew, do you think American associates of Jeffrey Epstein will wind up in handcuffs too?

TRUMP: I'm the expert in a way because I've been totally exonerated. That's very nice. I can actually speak about it very nicely. I think it's a shame. I did nothing.

I was wondering where the new refocus on Iran came from.

To be fair, whoever had to open and read that email prolly threw up on their keyboard and couldn’t respond.

Government Data Breach Sparks Fears Millions May Need New Social Security Numbers DOGE allegedly exposed 300 million Americans' Social Security numbers in unsecured cloud storage, creating lifelong fraud risks that may require replacing SSNs.

This is your reminder that DOGE risked the sensitive Social Security data of 300 MILLION people.

Jeopardizing personal information and having to reissue millions of Social Security cards doesn’t sound like government efficiency to us!

They raided the jailed children to steal their letters.

The problem, in federal officials' minds, wasn't confining children in prison-camp conditions; it was that the children could tell the public about it.

How is it possible that Kristi Noem still has this job. Imagine if you’re a family member or a shipmate of this guardsman.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...

i would like to read a deeply-reported, 10,000-word investigative piece about the procurement process that ends up sourcing a luxury 737 for the head of DHS which only seats 17 people

On Nov. 16, a mental health counselor recorded in Kamilla’s medical records that her mother reported the girl had lost her appetite after being “served food that contained worms.” A week later, the couple said, children were told to gather in the gym for what they believed would be a Thanksgiving celebration. Excitement spread as families saw tables set with turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, they said. The children waited expectantly. But when a parent asked when the celebration would begin, Oksana said, staff told them the holiday meal was for employees, not detainees. The children, she said, watched despondently as the feast was packed away.

On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.

The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.

But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.

Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social

One year on from dismantling of USAID, study projects that global aid cuts could lead to 9.4 million deaths by 2030 | CNN It’s been one year since the Trump administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID), with aid cuts leading to the closure of HIV clinics in South Africa, the termination o...

As a direct result of the obscene actions of Russell Vought and Elon Musk in destroying USAID, we can expect “at least 9.4 million additional deaths by 2030, if the current funding trend continues.

About 2.5 million of those deaths are projected to be children under the age of 5.”

A Pilot Fired Over Kristi Noem’s Missing Blanket and the Constant Chaos Inside DHS Secretary faces fire for confrontational immigration crackdown and self-promotional style; White House to wind down Minnesota operations.

Firing a pilot for leaving Kristi Noem's blanket behind. Berating staff when she's not on TV enough. Inside the constant chaos at DHS.

I’m so glad a man with this level of judgement is in control of all our healthcare.

This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.

This beat poetry sucks….

Toddler hospitalized with respiratory failure was returned to ICE detention without prescribed medication, lawsuit says The 18-month-old was sent back to a South Texas facility after days in intensive care with severe respiratory distress, according to a federal lawsuit.

NEW: A baby held in immigration detention became so sick, she had to be rushed to a hospital in severe respiratory distress.

“She was at the brink of dying,” a lawyer told me.

But the girl didn’t go home after her 10-day hospital stay; instead, ICE put her and her mother back in lock up at Dilley.

I’m not sure why, their audience would have loved it.

“.. A review of the entire day’s programming on both the Fox News Channel and Fox Business found not one single mention of the story all day long Friday until after 6 pm ET ..”

@mediaite.com
www.mediaite.com/analysis/fox...

Organizers have collected 14 lotion bottles, two deodorant bottles, and one AA Battery that detainees have thrown over the fences with notes attached to them.

The full story: lataco.com/captive-loti...

By Aisha Wallace-Palomares

‘One officer told me that I "had no chance of returning to Minnesota" and that "the best thing for (me] is self-deportation." …
She offered me $2600 to self-deport.
I refused.
I wanted to talk to my attorney.
They didn't tell me the judge had already ordered my release and return to Minnesota.’

Just an evil evil fucker

Inside the ICE Forum Where Agents Complain About Their Jobs “I'm all for removing illegals, but snatching dudes off lawn mowers in Cali and leaving the truck and equipment just sitting there? Definitely not working smarter,” writes one forum user.

SCOOP: A look inside the ICE Forum where agents complain about their jobs and so much more.

“I'm all for removing illegals, but snatching dudes off lawn mowers in Cali and leaving the truck and equipment just sitting there? Definitely not working smarter.”

read @telliotter.bsky.social: