Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says "we trust Anthropic" as they are "back on the right side" with the administration and that "they've done what we asked" (Maria Curi/Axios)

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has expressed trust in AI company Anthropic, stating they are "back on the right side" with the administration. According to Axios, Lutnick said "we trust Anthropic" and that "they've done what we asked".

Anthropic had previously been at odds with the US administration over AI safety and national security. The company had refused to allow its Claude AI models to be used for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons, leading to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocking Anthropic from certain military contracts. Anthropic had sued in California court and a US judge had recently sided with the company, according to CNA - Business.

Lutnick's comments mark a turnaround in the relationship between Anthropic and the administration. Axios reports that Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown is taking a more prominent role in the company's relationship with the White House, including a recent appearance at the G20 Innovation Ministerial.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, CNA - Business, Axios — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.