Anthropic Stands Firm As Pentagon Pressure Mounts

There's a significant tension brewing between Silicon Valley and Washington this morning, and it's forcing some uncomfortable questions about how AI companies should operate when governments come calling. Anthropic, one of the most respected AI safety-focused companies, is finding itself in the crosshairs of the Pentagon and the Trump administration over a fundamental disagreement: should AI companies be obligated to remove safety guardrails when military applications are on the table? It's the kind of standoff that feels theoretical until it happens, and now it's very real.

The Anthropic-Pentagon Clash

Here's what's happened. The Defence Department has been pressuring Anthropic to drop restrictions on how its Claude AI models can be used by the military. Anthropic has refused, arguing that their safety practices aren't negotiable. In response, the Trump administration has moved to designate Anthropic as a "supply chain risk" and announced it will stop using the company's services across government. It's a remarkable escalation-one that raises questions about whether AI companies with genuine safety commitments can survive in an environment where compliance with government demands is expected as a cost of doing business. Scott Aaronson, the quantum computing researcher and Anthropic advisor, published a pointed statement calling on "every person of conscience" and "all other AI companies" to stand behind Anthropic. That's not hyperbole in his world-it's a straightforward assessment of what's at stake.

Meanwhile, OpenAI has moved in the opposite direction. Reuters reports that OpenAI has reached a deal to deploy AI models on classified U.S. Department of Defence networks. The contrast is stark: one company negotiating government use on its own terms, the other accepting it as a condition of business.

Quantum Progress and Web Security

On brighter technical fronts, quantum computing is making tangible progress. Google has unveiled an approach to quantum-proof HTTPS certificates using clever mathematics to compress 2.5 kilobytes of quantum-resistant data into just 64 bytes-critical work for protecting encrypted connections against future quantum computers. The Quantum Economic Development Consortium has also announced research advances in quantum control electronics, with improvements in compactness and manufacturability across multiple qubit technologies, addressing key scaling challenges.

For developers, there's essential security work worth your attention. A detailed guide on preventing IDOR (Insecure Direct Object Reference) vulnerabilities in Next.js shows exactly how authentication alone isn't enough-you need object-level authorization to prevent users from accessing data they shouldn't. The principle is simple but easy to get wrong: every API route that accepts an ID must verify that the requester actually owns or has permission to access that resource. India has also disrupted access to Supabase, a popular developer platform, following a government blocking order-a reminder that infrastructure decisions made today can have immediate real-world consequences for developers relying on those services.

What connects these stories is a theme about power, control, and trust. Whether it's governments demanding compliance from AI companies, quantum cryptography racing against future threats, or developers building systems that properly validate access, the common thread is: who decides the rules, and what happens when those rules are questioned? These aren't abstract questions anymore.