Just Hours After Federal Agencies Ordered to Halt
Trump Criticizes Anthropic as "Radical Left-Wing Company"
Claude Sets New Record for New User Sign-Ups
U.S. media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Axios reported on March 1 (local time) that the United States utilized the AI model 'Claude' during its airstrike operations against Iran.
Previously, President Donald Trump had ordered all federal agencies to halt the use of Anthropic's technology, the developer of Claude, just hours before the airstrikes.
According to WSJ, officials confirmed that several U.S. military commands around the world, including U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), were using Claude from Anthropic. Even amid ongoing tensions between Anthropic and the Department of Defense, CENTCOM has been employing Claude for intelligence assessments, target identification, and battlefield simulations.
Claude is currently considered the only AI that can be effectively utilized within U.S. military classified systems. In January, the United States also used Claude during the process of apprehending Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. However, there was a sharp divide between the Department of Defense and Anthropic regarding how it should be used. The Department of Defense demanded that Anthropic fully open up its AI for military applications, while Anthropic maintained its position that its technology should not be used for large-scale surveillance or the development of fully autonomous lethal weapons. Ultimately, President Trump directly intervened and ordered federal agencies to cease using Anthropic's technology.
On February 27, he criticized Anthropic as a "radical left-wing woke company," saying, "Their selfishness has put American lives at risk and endangered our military and national security." However, he added that, since the Department of Defense and others are currently using Anthropic products, there would be a six-month gradual phase-out period.
Meanwhile, following the Trump administration's decision to remove Anthropic, the popularity of Claude has actually surged. Claude overtook ChatGPT to become the number one free app on the U.S. Apple App Store for the first time. An Anthropic spokesperson told CNBC, "The number of new subscribers hit an all-time high this week," adding, "The number of free users has increased by more than 60% since January, and the number of paid subscribers has more than doubled since the beginning of this year."
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