It reveals that Anthropic is not currently nationalized and is making independent decisions that go against what the administration wants. Decisions that are significant enough to have a public conflict around it.
I agree that that reading is compatible with the known facts, though a less cynical reading is that Anthropic leadership just genuinely prefer that their products not be used for mass surveillance of Americans.
If that’s what they sincerely believe, making an expectation policy that allows them to let their products be used in secret without telling their employees and the public is stupid.
You would want public commitments to principles like that with canary documents, for game theoretic reasons that precommit not to let their products be used that way. If you really care about that, you would have a public page listing all exceptions that are made to the Terms of Service. Having a policy were you can make secret expectations to the Terms of Service is bound to create situations where classified demands are made to make additional expectations with reduced ability to push back.
In the current world, unless they can’t get Claude to cooperate, the military can do whatever they want, but not lawfully (since they’d be violating the terms of the contract).
Violating a contract is not automatically doing something unlawfully. There’s no law in the US that says you have to follow every contract. If someone is in breach of contract you can sue them in civil court to recover damages or get an injunction.
Having a policy were you can make secret expectations to the Terms of Service is bound to create situations where classified demands are made to make additional expectations with reduced ability to push back.
Great point.
Violating a contract is not automatically doing something unlawfully.
It reveals that Anthropic is not currently nationalized and is making independent decisions that go against what the administration wants. Decisions that are significant enough to have a public conflict around it.
If that’s what they sincerely believe, making an expectation policy that allows them to let their products be used in secret without telling their employees and the public is stupid.
You would want public commitments to principles like that with canary documents, for game theoretic reasons that precommit not to let their products be used that way. If you really care about that, you would have a public page listing all exceptions that are made to the Terms of Service. Having a policy were you can make secret expectations to the Terms of Service is bound to create situations where classified demands are made to make additional expectations with reduced ability to push back.
Violating a contract is not automatically doing something unlawfully. There’s no law in the US that says you have to follow every contract. If someone is in breach of contract you can sue them in civil court to recover damages or get an injunction.
Great point.
Good correction, thanks.