US appeals court declines to block Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic

On September 25, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. upheld the Pentagon's designation of AI startup Anthropic as a national security supply chain risk. This decision came in Anthropic's lawsuit challenging the Pentagon's March designation, which the startup claims has cost it billions in lost business and damaged its reputation ahead of an upcoming initial public offering.

The majority decision upheld the Pentagon's action, stating that it was reasonable given Anthropic's refusal to allow its products to be used for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance. The court rejected Anthropic's claim that the Pentagon had retaliated against the company for its views on AI safety and ethics.