Last month, Emil Michael, the Department of War’s (DOW) Chief Technology Officer, led the Department’s effort to require Anthropic to support any lawful use of its technology if it was going to remain a vendor. He was right to do so, as we argued at the time. Now, Michael is under attack for putting national security first. Here’s why his critics are wrong and Michael is right.
On the dispute, DOW’s position was straightforward: if the government is buying a system, it must be able to use it for any lawful purpose. Anthropic pushed for substantive restrictions on its AI tools—restrictions it would control. People familiar with the talks told the Reporter those limits extended well beyond “mass surveillance” and “autonomous weapons.”
That is the core problem. You cannot have a private vendor deciding which lawful military uses are acceptable. Anthropic chose examples that sound reasonable to the public. But mass surveillance is already illegal. As Michael has made clear, Anthropic’s definitions were so broad they could sweep in routine activities, including something as basic as scanning LinkedIn for recruiting.
Michael could have taken the easy route which would have been to sign a deal, declare victory, let the lawyers work it out, and punt the issue to a future administration. He didn’t. He chose the harder even knowing it would create headaches as the Administration prepared to strike Iran.
The smears against Michael were predictable. They are coming from left-wing outlets (likely pitched by Anthropic or their consultants) that have long been skeptical of national security and they’re based on alleged complaints from Michael’s time at Uber and questioning whether his background as an AI investor makes him biased.
But these attacks are completely unfounded. Michael’s record at Uber has been public for years. He helped build a company that raised billions and scaled globally. That is exactly the kind of operational and technical experience the country should want in a CTO.
The same goes for his investing. Critics note that Michael has backed AI companies that compete with Anthropic. But this has long been known, cleared by the office of ethics, and it is this experience that has made him an effective CTO at DOW. There is zero evidence those firms are benefiting from this dispute. And the idea that Michael, who has already substantial wealth, would shape DOW policy to pad his returns is not serious. It is simply a false smear.
We’ve spoken with staff on Senate and House national security committees. Their reaction was consistent that DOW is right. Several said Anthropic’s proposed restrictions were “much broader than advertised.” They have also all been unanimously positive about Michael’s work to integrate AI and improve the Department’s procurement processes.
One final point that’s getting lost: Michael left one of the most lucrative industries in the world to serve the country for a fraction of the pay and under constant scrutiny.
Emil Michael made the right call. And he deserves credit for it.
