The Pentagon vs. Anthropic + An A.I. Agent Slandered Me + Hot Mess Express

This week, Anthropic is refusing to let the government use the company’s technology for autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance. In response, the Pentagon is threatening to cut business ties and declare Anthropic a “supply chain risk.” Who will blink first? Then, Scott Shambaugh joins us to tell the strange tale of the autonomous A.I. agent that wrote a hit piece about him. And finally, the Hot Mess Express returns to the station. Guest: Scott Shambaugh, engineer and writer of “ An A.I. Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me ” Additional Reading: Defense Department and Anthropic Square Off in Dispute Over A.I. Safety Ring Cancels Its Partnership With Flock Safety After Surveillance Backlash Meta Plans to Add Facial Recognition Technology to Its Smart Glasses Japan’s Largest Toilet Maker Is Undervalued A.I. Play, Says Activist Investor ‘It Is 35 Degrees’: Outrage as Aussie Uber Driver Charges $5 to Turn on Air Conditioning Unit During Heatwave Meta Patented an A.I. That Lets You Keep Posting From Beyond the Grave I Tried RentAHuman, Where A.I. Agents Hired Me to Hype Their A.I. Start-Ups We want to hear from you. Email us at hardfork@nytimes.com . Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok .

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The Pentagon vs. Anthropic + An A.I. Agent Slandered Me + Hot Mess Express is an episode from Sway by The New York Times.

This episode is 01:04:09 long.

This episode was published on Feb 20, 2026.

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