summoning the CEO of Entropic to the Pentagon; Military non-cooperation risks sanctions

In an unprecedented move, the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) summoned the CEO of Entropic for a tense meeting. The Pentagon plans to force the company to lift safety restrictions on its AI for military applications, including mass surveillance of American citizens and the development of automatic weapons. Entropic’s stubborn resistance to this request has caused the US military authorities to threaten the company with being placed on the security blacklist.

According to the New York Times, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth summoned Entropic CEO Dario Amodei to Washington on Tuesday to discuss how the military is using artificial intelligence in classified systems.

Last summer, the two agencies signed a $200 million contract, but now the Pentagon wants all security restrictions on the deal lifted. Military officials want a license that would allow them to monitor citizens’ social media, voting records and personal information on a large scale, as well as build weapons that fire without human intervention. Entropic explicitly opposes these two demands and insists on maintaining safety frameworks.

Dispute between Pentagon and Entropic Corporation

The US Department of Defense has threatened to label Entropic as a “supply chain threat” if it doesn’t cooperate; A label commonly used for foreign adversaries such as the Chinese company Huawei. Reports indicate that the meeting was not friendly at all and defense officials have given Amoudi a serious ultimatum. If Entropic is placed on the supply chain risk list, its $200 million contract will be canceled immediately.

But the main disaster for this company is beyond a contract; This security label forces all US defense contractors to stop using cloud AI in their systems. Considering that 8 out of the top 10 Fortune magazine companies use the cloud in their work processes, this sanction can cause an irreparable blow to Entropic’s business ecosystem.

The US military relies heavily on Entropic Technology and data analytics company Palantir to analyze its sensitive data. US special forces used cloud artificial intelligence in the January 3rd operation that led to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, the former president of Venezuela.

It was the first time the US military used a commercial artificial intelligence in a classified mission. Pentagon officials themselves admit that competing models are not yet as reliable for classified tasks as the cloud, and that replacing it would be a big hassle.