The Anthropic vs. Pentagon debacle is the only thing that comes to my mind, and I did update on that somewhat.[3]
The more cynical view is that Anthropic is asserting its power over the US government. If they gave in now, they set the precedent that the USG can just use the DPA or threaten it to align models to whatever they want. At a later time, when Anthropic or the AI systems behind Anthropic are much more powerful, they can just repeat how they avoided US control here with greater sophistication.
edit: I think Sam Altman also doing this supports this view. They probably see it as a power play.
The more cynical view is that Anthropic is asserting its power over the US government. If they gave in now, they set the precedent that the USG can just use the DPA or threaten it to align models to whatever they want. At a later time, when Anthropic or the AI systems behind Anthropic are much more powerful, they can just repeat how they avoided US control here with greater sophistication.
edit: I think Sam Altman also doing this supports this view. They probably see it as a power play.