Lutnick Says "Now We Trust Anthropic," Signaling Possible Thaw with Trump Administration

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has stated that he now trusts the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, following months of friction with the Donald Trump administration.

In an interview with the U.S. online media outlet Axios released on September 2, Lutnick answered "We trust Anthropic" when asked if he trusts Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic.

Regarding Anthropic, he said, "They have done what we asked, they are back on the right path, so the answer is yes."

Axios explained that these remarks mark a surprising development in the relationship between Anthropic and the Trump administration, which had been strained by fierce disputes over national security and AI safety guards.

Concurrently, Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown attended the G20 Innovation Ministers Meeting held in North Carolina on the same day, engaging in a dialogue with Secretary Lutnick and opening the door to improving relations with the administration.

Brown praised a recent post on Truth Social by President Trump regarding data centers, saying, "I really liked President Trump's post pointing out that data centers are a massive source of prosperity."

He explained, "Data centers create numerous jobs and secure tax revenue, and the way we design them currently actually adds more power to the grid."

Brown also emphasized Anthropic's support for the administration's electricity ratepayer protection pledge, which ensures that the power costs of AI data centers are not passed on to ordinary households and consumers.

Commenting on these moves, Axios analyzed, "The tech industry knows well that aligning with the Trump administration helps in advancing policy priorities, and Brown is providing a new turning point for a company (Anthropic) that was once at odds with the White House."

Earlier this year, tensions between the Trump administration and Anthropic escalated when the company refused a U.S. Department of Defense demand to fully open up the military applications of its AI model, Claude.

Anthropic maintained its stance that its models must not be used for mass surveillance of U.S. citizens or fully autonomous weapons.

In response, the Department of Defense designated Anthropic as a supply chain threat in February, instructing federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's AI technology, but a federal court ruled last month that the decision was unlawful.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.