Antropic requests retrial from appeals court over 'blacklisting is legal'

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Seol Won-tae = Antropic reported on the 13th (local time) that Antropic requested a retrial of the Federal Appeals Court's (Washington, DC) ruling that the U.S. Department of Defense's action designating the company as a 'supply chain risk company' was legal.

Last month, the Washington DC Federal Appeals Court rejected Antropic's request to invalidate the Department of Defense's designation as a 'supply chain risk company' by a vote of 2 to 1, and requested a reconsideration by the full bench of the Court of Appeals.

Antropic argued that the court's majority opinion misinterpreted the law, allowing the Department of Defense to take action "without prior designation procedures and, further, despite direct evidence that the designation was retaliation for Antropic's AI safety-related comments."

Bloomberg assessed that this legal battle has significant implications because the court will decide whether the federal government or private companies will control AI safeguards... .

The fight between Antropic and the U.S. Department of Defense began early this year when negotiations over the use of Antropic AI technology by the U.S. military broke down.

Antropic demanded assurances that its technology would not be used for mass surveillance of Americans or for autonomous weapons by the U.S. military.

However, the U.S. Department of Defense countered that there should be no restrictions on the use of Antropic technology, citing national security issues.

The U.S. Department of Defense's position is that Antropic's AI performs national defense functions, and that preventing the company from using its AI for large-scale surveillance of Americans or autonomous warfare constitutes a "supply chain risk."

The U.S. Department of Defense designated Antropic a "supply chain risk company" in March and ordered all federal agencies to withdraw Antropic-related contracts. This designation was difficult for Antropic to accept because it applies to companies in countries that the United States considers hostile.

Afterwards, Antropic filed two lawsuits against the Department of Defense. One is challenging a Department of Defense directive to federal agencies to stop working with Antropic, and the other is challenging the legality of the risk designation.