The heads of large corporations are perhaps the most powerful men in the United States. And not the least among them are the CEOs of big tech companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Meta. These giants of industry have lately been faithful friends of the most powerful man in the country, indeed in the world, President Donald Trump. Their very deep pockets have poured generous amounts of cash into his election campaigns. Pundits talk of the close “bromance” between Silicon Valley and the administration.

Their support has not just been for ideological reasons. The big tech companies tend to have highly lucrative contracts with the U.S.government, particularly with the Department of War (formerly the Department of Defence).

One such lucrative contract was held by Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company that has developed a family of large language models called Claude. In its statement of purpose, Anthropic claims it is “dedicated to building systems that people can rely on and generating research about the opportunities and risks of AI.”

Anthropic has, until recently, provided the Department of Defence/War with Claude for general use as well as classified uses such as intelligence analysis and military operations. Apparently it has been used in the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and in the Iran war.

The two parties have, however, come to a parting of the ways. The contract, signed under the Biden administration, contained a couple of restrictions. Domestic mass surveillance and fully autonomous lethal weapons were prohibited uses. The Trump administration had initially agreed to the restrictions but then changed its mind. It rejected usage restrictions on principle. Anthropic stuck to its guns and the contract fell apart.

It got worse. Normally if two parties can’t agree, then the contract is simply cancelled. The Pentagon decided that wasn’t enough. Anthropic was to be punished. Trump referred to the company as a “radical Left AI company” and its management as “left-wing nut jobs.” He then directed every federal agency in the United States government to immediately cease all use of the company’s technology.

The most severe punishment was to declare Anthropic a supply chain risk, a measure typically reserved only for foreign companies. All defence contractors would be prevented from doing business with the company.

Anthropic has retaliated in true American fashion. It has sued the Department of Defence/War, the Trump administration and several federal agencies. Apparently it has a very good case.

And it has friends. A number of America’s biggest tech companies, including Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, are supporting Anthropic in its lawsuit. Microsoft warned that the government’s behaviour could cause “broad negative ramifications for the entire technology sector.” Microsoft, I might point out, does extensive work for the government, including the Department of Defence/War.

The companies’ concern arises from what they see as the government punishing Anthropic for free speech, specifically, going public with its refusal to remove the guardrails.. The Chamber of Progress, a tech advocacy group founded by major tech companies, stated that it “opposes governmental attempts to force or restrict access to speech.” It is, in other words, concerned about the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, not a document that much concerns Trump and friends.

Other groups have filed amicus briefs in support of Anthropic, including two dozen former high ranking U.S. military officials.

What is important in this case, to observers such as myself, is neither the Trump administration’s behaviour nor the legal wrangling about it, but that some people with no small power of their own have stood up to the bully rather than pander to him, even though it is clearly against their own interests.

So kudos to the tech bros. Now if they would just declare against facilitating war entirely.