Politics Over Merit: How DC is Handling AI Wrong

Economist Paul Krugman says a new Pentagon decision about artificial intelligence raises serious questions about politics and national security. The Defense Department has labeled the AI company Anthropic, leader of the Claude system, a, quote, supply chain risk, and ordered military systems and contractors to stop using the technology. Krugman argues the designation appears unrelated to the legal definition of supply chain risk, which normally refers to sabotage or subversion by a foreign adversary. Instead, he says the conflict stems from Anthropic's position that this AI should not be be used for fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance. Bergman argues the move could weaken national security by blocking tools many defense experts considered highly effective. The irony, he says, is that critics of diversity policies often claim merit should come first. This decision may sideline a widely used technology because of politics rather than performance.