Tech workers demand limits on military AI after Anthropic ban and Iran strikes
Mar 3rd 2026
Workers at Google, OpenAI and other tech firms circulated multiple open letters urging companies to set clearer limits on military uses of AI after the Pentagon blacklisted Anthropic and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran.
- Nearly 900 employees signed an open letter titled We Will Not Be Divided, with about 800 from Google and nearly 100 from OpenAI.
- The Pentagon designated Anthropic a supply chain risk and blocked its AI models after the U.S. carried out strikes on Iran.
- Anthropic had refused to allow its technology to be used for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons.
- Workers and activist groups are urging major cloud providers to reject Defense Department contract terms that could enable surveillance or abusive uses of AI.
- No Tech For Apartheid and allied coalitions specifically called on Amazon, Google and Microsoft to refuse Pentagon demands.
- Google is reportedly negotiating to deploy its Gemini model on a classified system, reviving internal fights over military AI use.
- Google AI head Jeff Dean said mass surveillance violates the Fourth Amendment and can chill freedom of expression.