Anthropic 's feud with the Department of Defense is more than a contract dispute. It's a preview of a looming power struggle between elected governments and increasingly powerful AI companies. CEO Dario Amodei refused to let the Pentagon use Anthropic's AI for "any lawful purpose," worrying it could enable domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons. That stance could have barred certain military uses even if the government deemed them legal, according to Jessica Tillipman , a government