Pentagon Insider: What's Next For Anthropic and The Department of War — With Michael Horowitz

Big Technology Podcast

Alex Kantrowitz

Management, Religion, Politics, Entrepreneurship, Business News, News, Investing, Marketing, News Commentary, Social Sciences, Science, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality, Business, Tech News, Philosophy, Government, Technology

4.7 • 596 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2026

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Michael Horowitz is the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for force development and emerging capabilities at the Department of Defense, and currently a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Horowitz joins Big Technology to discuss the Anthropic–Pentagon rupture and what it signals about how the U.S. government wants to use frontier AI. Tune in to hear his inside view on how models like Claude actually get deployed in defense workflows, why a contract fight over “mass surveillance” language escalated, and what the trust breakdown says about the future of AI partnerships with the state. We also cover autonomous weapon systems vs. “fully autonomous weapons,” what today’s AI can and can’t do on the battlefield, and how AI is likely to reshape warfare over time. Hit play for a clear-eyed look at where Silicon Valley and the national security establishment collide—and what happens next. --- Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice. Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack + Discord? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Where do Anthropic and the Department of War go from here now that their relationships exploded?
0:05.0	Let's talk about it with an actual expert who's designed AI policy for the Pentagon, especially regarding weapons systems.
0:12.0	That's coming up right after this.
0:15.0	Michael Lewis here.
0:17.0	My best-selling book, The Big Short, tells the story of the buildup and burst of the U.S. housing market back in 2008.
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0:50.8	This is a paid message from GoFundMe. My name's Ashley Kane.
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1:51.5	Welcome to Big Technology Podcast, a show for cool-headed and nuanced conversation of the tech world and beyond.
1:57.8	Well, many of you have asked for an expert who's worked intricately on matters that
2:02.2	might involve the Anthropic Pentagon Dust Up, and we definitely have the right person for you today.
2:09.0	Professor Michael Horowitz is here with us. He's a professor of political science and economics
	...

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