Anthropic said Thursday that “virtually no progress” had been made in the company’s talks with the Pentagon over the terms of use for its AI models ahead of a Friday afternoon deadline. The

Debates have long swirled around AI and its use in weapons targeting, the idea of no human involvement still an uncomfortable one.

Anthropic announced its acquisition of Vercept this week, in a move that signals the company’s intent to move further into full computer interaction.

The company's Claude chatbot is one of the few AI systems cleared for use in classified settings. But a standoff between Anthropic and the Trump administration is putting its government work at risk.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic until Friday at 5 p.m. to grant the military unresticted use of its AI technology.

Tensions ramped up following reports that Anthropic technology had been used in the violent abduction of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

Anthropic fears the unrestricted military use of its AI systems by the US government may harm democracy. Military officials have threatened to invoke Cold War-era legislation to force Anthropic to comply.

If the Pentagon carries out its threat to blacklist Anthropic’s Claude AI platform, it could be three months or even longer before the U.S. military regains access to such a powerful tool on its classified networks, according to multiple sources familiar with the fight between the Defense Department and the AI maker.