Mastodawn

Matthew Sheffield

The stupidity and corruption of Pete Hegseth knows no bounds. In the latest instance, the AI company Anthropic says it doesn't want its products to have full autonomy to guide weapons since it doesn't think the software is reliable enough.

Hegseth is threatening to terminate Anthropic's contract because of this stance. He wants a product known to be unreliable to control weapons.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/24/tech/hegseth-anthropic-ai-military-amodei

Pentagon threatens to make Anthropic a pariah if it refuses to drop AI guardrails

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei a Friday deadline to comply with demands to peel back safeguards on its AI model or risk losing a Pentagon contract.

CNN

Doug 🌈🇨🇦

@mattsheffield This is insane.

Miles Offit... 🇨🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦Feb 25

@mattsheffield Those let-the-market-decide Republicans sure know how to spread the freedom around.

Robin Adams Feb 25

Randall Lee Feb 25

@mattsheffield His qualifications to be secretary of defense is that he was on TV. Bozo was also on TV.

Matthew Sheffield Feb 25

@BLTpizza If it weren't for RFK Junior, he would easily be the worst Trump cabinet official. Complete bozo without any merit--who also claims he wants to restore merit in the military.

Mark W. Alexander Mar 1

@BLTpizza @mattsheffield
Bozo had character

@mattsheffield Because then they can kill anyone they want and blame it on the software.

@mattsheffield so when AI-controlled weapons (presumably this implies no human in the loop) starts shooting US citizens due to misclassification, its a case of mouthing thoughts and prayers, cuz shit happens?

François @Jura Feb 25

@mattsheffield unreliable has been the Hegseth branding all along 😎

Chris Hayes Feb 25

@mattsheffield considering Anthropic's brand positioning, all they need to do is do nothing. It's free PR.

@mattsheffield
What is amazingly hypocritical of Heseth is that he is saying a business doesn't have the right to decide who they sell to.

RevPudDudley Feb 25

@mattsheffield @AliceFraser said [about Musk]:
* * I think we read the same sci-fi as teenagers but he misconstrued who the bad guys were** [not verbatim]

Hegseth likes the Skynet/Terminator scenario ?
Probably thinks that Jesus will be back soon & nuclear wipeout doesn't matter.
Probably the one believer in the whole gang

der.hans Feb 25

@mattsheffield It seems nepo-bro Hegseth has only seen the first part of War Games

It sounds like he wants to be able to fire missiles and start wars without needing to interact with the military

What do the Trump-Epstein files have to say about Hegseth?

Fragarach Feb 25

@mattsheffield
I can't be the only one who immediately thought of "Robocop".

loStronzoRocco Feb 25

@Fragarach @mattsheffield Yup, but instead of Robocop, it’s ED-209.

Michael Graaf Feb 25

@mattsheffield The whole concept of autonomy in digital devices must be challenged. "No human in the loop" just means *no longer* any human in the loop. Liability for outcomes rests with those who set up the loop even if they turn away.

ChookMother 🇦🇺🦘Feb 25

@mattsheffield So, if something isn't what he wants it to be, getting mad at it will make it right? That's what toddlers do.

Oliver Schafeld Feb 25

Nuremberg trials 1945: "I just followed orders."

Nuremberg trials 2045: "I didn't war-crime, the machine did…"

(Reminder: The A in AGI is not for accountability)

ΞVΞ🦋Feb 25

I have this administration to thank for the fact that now when I look back at history, people I thought were plain evil actually weren’t. They’re all just annoying, low self-esteem, dumbass mutherfuckers, doing stupid shit.

@mattsheffield Hmmm, is it still friendly fire if the AI doesn't have the capability for friendship?

Otte Homan - remember Geordie Feb 25

@mattsheffield they want a stochastic parrot to control cruise missiles?!?

Well he was handpicked by the orange captain stupid, so comes as no surprise…

Dmian 🇪🇺Feb 25

@mattsheffield These new generation of American oligarchs sure are lame! They need to learn to make deals with the government in a way that, whatever they do, they won’t be held liable, like the Sackler family. Chumps!
/s

Androcat Feb 25

@mattsheffield Most likely, this is all window dressing. A fake argument about a fake safety feature on a fake technology with fake capabilities.

Bogdan Buduroiu Feb 25

@mattsheffield this dude wrote am essay titled "Machines of Loving Grace" now has to prostitute his labour because everyone has to kiss the ring.

It's kinda ironic, I also think that Amodei genuinely drinks his own kool-aid

@mattsheffield To be fair, "a product known to be unreliable to control weapons" also describes Hegseth himself. And his boss.

darthPanda Feb 25

@mattsheffield It's about laying grounds for the massive taxpayer bailout of AI that's going to take place. Having AI systems "part of National Defense" will ensure the GOP and TFG have talking points to shove the largest billionaire bailout in history down everyone's gullet.

nojhan à la double douleur vaudoue Feb 25

@mattsheffield That’s not stupidity, that’s weaponized ideology. They’re signaling that they don’t tolerate any lack of obedience, even rationaly motivated.

Plus, my guess is that they don’t care the efficacy of the weapons in a war of terror. If it misses, it’s not their fault, and it’s a normal parameter.

David Fyhrie Feb 26

Who could have predicted that Omni Consumer Products (OCP) would be less evil than the Secretary of Defense?