More than 450 staff members at Google and OpenAI have added their names to a public petition urging their firms to back Anthropic in a clash with the Pentagon over military uses of AI models such as Claude. The open letter, titled “We Will Not Be Divided,” asks leadership to reject requests for domestic surveillance and autonomous lethal systems.

The document explicitly calls for companies to “put aside their differences and stand together” against Department of War demands that would permit AI models to conduct mass surveillance or kill without human oversight—lines that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has repeatedly said must never be crossed. Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned Anthropic that non‑compliance could label it a supply‑chain risk.

At the time of reporting, roughly 400 signatures come from Google employees and the remainder from OpenAI staff, with about half of signatories attaching their names and the rest remaining anonymous. All participants have been verified as current employees, while the letter’s organizers claim no affiliation with any AI firm, political party, or advocacy group.

OpenAI chief Sam Altman echoed Anthropic’s stance in an internal memo seen by Axios, promising the same red lines and noting he does not personally think the Pentagon should threaten