Anthropic drops Claude Gov for natsec customers; Trump administration rebrands AI Safety Institute

Anthropic announced Thursday that it is releasing Claude Gov to U.S. national security customers, an exclusive set of artificial intelligence models that is already in the hands of some government agencies. The new government AI product, which Anthropic detailed in a blog post, comes as several companies compete to sell emerging technology tools to federal agencies. At stake is new business — and the prestige of working on serious government missions. Earlier this year, OpenAI released ChatGPT Gov, a specialized version of its chatbot. The company recently announced that the Space Force and the Air Force Research Lab were the product’s first customers. Meanwhile, Department of Government Efficiency representatives have reportedly been advocating for the use of Grok — the chatbot produced by Elon Musk’s firm xAI — within the Department of Homeland Security.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced plans this week to “reform” the department’s AI Safety Institute into a new body called the Center for AI Standards and Innovation. The new name signals a shift away from the term “safety” and toward a desire for rapid development of the technology, though the primary role of the renamed body appears to be more or less the same. The center, like the AISI, will continue to evaluate the capabilities and vulnerabilities of the growing technology and serve as the primary point of contact for industry in the government. “For far too long, censorship and regulations have been used under the guise of national security. Innovators will no longer be limited by these standards,” Lutnick said in a written statement. “CAISI will evaluate and enhance U.S. innovation of these rapidly developing commercial AI systems while ensuring they remain secure to our national security standards.”

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