OpenAI and Google Employees Back Anthropic in DOD Lawsuit

The AI industry is rallying around Anthropic—at least some of it.

More than 30 OpenAI and Google DeepMind employees filed an amicus brief Monday supporting Anthropic's lawsuit against the Defense Department, according to TechCrunch. The brief was signed by Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean among others.

The filing appeared on the docket hours after Anthropic sued the DOD after being labeled a "supply-chain risk"—a designation usually reserved for foreign adversaries. The Pentagon's move came after Anthropic refused to allow the Department of Defense to use its technology for mass surveillance of Americans or autonomously firing weapons.

"The government's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk was an improper and arbitrary use of power that has serious ramifications for our our industry," the brief reads.

The brief also notes an awkward detail: the DOD signed a deal with OpenAI within moments of designating Anthropic. Many OpenAI employees protested that deal.

"If allowed to proceed, this effort to punish one of the leading U.S. AI companies will undoubtedly have consequences for the United States' industrial and scientific competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence and beyond," the employees wrote. "And it will chill open deliberation in our field about the risks and benefits of today's AI systems."