At Singapore launch, Anthropic defends its oversight of how customers use its model, citing AI’s ‘dual use’ risks

Anthropic, the developer of Claude, is unwilling to completely relinquish control over how customers utilize its most potent AI models, stating that the technology possesses dual-use characteristics, according to co-founder Benjamin Mann. When questioned by Fortune regarding the possibility of offering local data residency and sovereign AI solutions to address concerns over data security, Mann emphasized that Anthropic aims for customers to execute their most confidential workloads with the company.

However, Mann clarified that the dual-use nature of the technology necessitates finding a balance between deploying the technology safely and identifying and addressing any misuse. In September, Anthropic launched its Enterprise Frontier Safeguards program, which aims to enhance data privacy protections, including zero data retention for eligible customers, while maintaining mechanisms to detect and prevent misuse.

Anthropic has been vocal about monitoring state and non-state actors utilizing Claude for military and other harmful purposes, including an alleged attempt by a weapons development cell in northern Yemen to use the model for ballistic missile development. Anthropic's presence in Singapore, its fifth office in the Asia-Pacific region, comes as the country ranks second among 121 countries in Claude usage relative to its population, with nearly six times the predicted usage based on its size.

Major companies like DBS, Southeast Asia's largest bank, GIC, the sovereign wealth fund, and ride-hailing giant Grab already leverage Claude. Despite being a late entrant in this market, Anthropic is actively working to deploy its frontier models on infrastructure in Singapore, but specifics on the timeline remain undisclosed.