US AI arms race: Can America stay ahead of China as Pentagon struggles to control military AI risks?

America is entering a new AI arms race, but its own government is struggling to keep up. The US military, intelligence agencies and defense contractors are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence for cybersecurity, weapons, intelligence and national defense.

The confusion became clear when the US Air Force first ordered military contractors to remove Anthropic’s AI products. In mid-July, several of America’s biggest defense contractors received a letter telling them that software used in weapons and control systems had to be free of Anthropic products by Sept. 1. The New York Times reported that companies could risk their Pentagon business if they failed to follow the order.