Note how the AI "recommendations" are completely obscured with little to no ability to actually verify or trace their outputs. This is what we mean when we say the distinctions between DSS and AWS are superficial in practice, especially when operators are given seconds to approve.

As @amostoh.bsky.social and I explain in our new report, the military has been ramping up its adoption of AI, while oversight and safeguards have failed to keep up. But the Pentagon’s dispute with Anthropic has brought a grave threat into focus: using AI to pry into Americans’ private lives 🧵 1/

Both things can be true: The Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic is an abuse of executive power. The daylight between the Pentagon and Anthropic is less than you think. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/01/t...

All this talk of advanced AI targeting and the U.S. still fired a Tomahawk at an elementary school where an outdoor playground has been visible on Google Maps since 2017 www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

1/ As the US continues AI-enabled strikes on Iran, new @brennancenter.org research from @emileayoub.bsky.social and me examines how the military’s investments in the technology have been building to this moment. Congress must step up and reckon with AI’s dangers to life, liberty, and democracy 🧵:

Emile Ayoub and Amos Toh: Senior Counsels, Liberty and National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice ( @emileayoub.bsky.social and @amostoh.bsky.social):

In this Tech Policy piece, I criticize how framings of Anthropic’s & OpenAI’s negotiations with the US’s DoW overindex on myopic interpretations of human oversight, papering over what should be the real target of our scrutiny: that generative AI algorithms are a flawed and inaccurate technology.

The expanding war in Iran brought to the fore questions about the role of technology in armed conflict, including the controversial use of new artificial intelligence technologies. Tech Policy Press invited perspectives from experts on what they are watching for as the situation unfolds.

As @amostoh.bsky.social and I explain, the Pentagon's dispute with Anthropic should not distract from the broader crisis at hand: Congress's failure to regulate some of the riskiest uses of AI - namely, amplifying surveillance and automating the use of lethal force.

Important 🧵on how the military’s use of Claude and other agentic AI could blow open the data broker loophole. @emileayoub.bsky.social, @jlkoepke.bsky.social and @jakelaperruque.bsky.social are all experts on this - follow them!

Trump's "massive and ongoing operation" against Iran is a clear violation of the Constitution's separation of powers. In our democracy, the president does not have the kingly power to plunge the nation into war without democratic debate and sanction. /1 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

this is really good background and context

new details about the Pentagon's fight with Anthropic are coming in fast and still under dispute, but this excellent analysis from @rightsduff.bsky.social and @amostoh.bsky.social from friday is very much worth your time. bsky.app/profile/just...

Jack Goldsmith is always a must-read, but IMHO he's being too cynical (or not cynical enough). Attention to Congress's constitutional responsibility (and its judgment, and powers) is energized by invoking illegality, not by brushing it off; this includes whether the president can steal the march.

DoDD 3000.09 *does not* prohibit fully autonomous weapons. It’s a framework for *authorizing* autonomous weapons, including weapons that do not require human confirmation between target ID and firing. NSA surveillance sweeping up Americans’ communications overseas is also traceable to EO 12333:

so much for that davos speech

Last July, we warned that the administration’s policy against “woke AI” would heap pressure on the tech industry to quash dissent. Today, it is pressuring industry to roll back safeguards aimed at preventing the mass surveillance of Americans, and lethal targeting without human oversight.

Guardrails don’t undermine military AI. In fact, they're needed to improve the tech’s safety and reliability, says @amostoh.bsky.social defensescoop.com/2026/02/27/p...

Anthropic will not cave to the Pentagon’s demands. The company’s restrictions on using Claude to spy on Americans and deploy fully autonomous weapons aren’t just its ethical red lines. They are also what a good faith interpretation of the Fourth Amendment and the law of war require. More in 🧵👇

clarifying timeline by @techpolicypress.bsky.social on the fast-moving dispute between Anthropic and the Pentagon on the limits of using AI in warfare

The Pentagon is threatening to use the Defense Production Act against Anthropic. It's a terrible policy, but legally it depends on whether they're seeking to avoid Anthropic's terms of service or have Anthropic retrain Claude. My latest for @lawfaremedia.org. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/what...

The Pentagon is giving Anthropic until Friday to waive its restrictions on using Claude for mass surveillance of Americans and lethal targeting without human involvement, per @axios.com My thread below breaks down how these uses could be unlawful or unconstitutional👇

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will meet tomorrow to discuss the terms of Claude's use, per @mccuri.bsky.social and Dave Lawler @axios.com. www.axios.com/2026/02/23/h... Here's what's at stake 👇

1/ The dispute between Anthropic and DOD over the limits of using AI in warfare is escalating. I’ll have more to say on what these limits should be in a @brennancenter.org report out next month. But for now, here’s what you need to know, and what’s truly at stake 🧵: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/t...

You’ll never guess but the solution to people not having money is to give them money.

Enough: The NAACP Legal Defense Fund calls to abolish ICE and the DHS infrastructure that enables its wanton, lawless abuse. This follows our earlier letter demanding sweeping cuts to DHS policing, intelligence, and other harmful programs. See LDF's statement here: www.naacpldf.org/press-releas...

Brian’s book is a profound meditation on the privilege of making mistakes. Addiction, for example, is not a mistake or choice per se, but does involve frequently catastrophic mistakes and choices. Whether these lead to homelessness is largely shaped by economic forces beyond individual control.

Excellent piece on the "Commercial off the shelf" or COTS exceptions the tech industry is constantly looking to expand.

Congress is on the verge of passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Its failure to right-size industry’s role in developing AI for national security purposes could have lasting repercussions, writes Brennan Center Liberty and National Security Program senior counsel Amos Toh.

My analysis of the AI provisions in the annual defense policy bill - good, weird, and just bad - is up on @techpolicypress.bsky.social. www.techpolicy.press/the-good-bad... Thanks @justinhendrix.bsky.social for the nudge and assist!

1/ The AI provisions in the annual defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), need more attention. They will shape AI’s impact on national security for decades to come. Here’s the good, the just plain weird, and the really really bad:

And here's the @hrw.org report on algorithmic exploitation @lenasimet.bsky.social and I published in May: www.hrw.org/report/2025/...

The affordability crisis is an inequality crisis. When prices spike in key sectors, it's not just inflation—it's a massive redistribution shock that hits poor households hardest. In our **new working paper**, we identify the sectors that matter most. A thread 🧵 scholarworks.umass.edu/entities/pub...

Vitally important call by @mawaldman.bsky.social @brennancenter.org for Congress to investigate Trump’s boat strikes. A critical unanswered question is how the military’s growing arsenal of surveillance and targeting technology is implicated. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/o...

Thread 🧵🧵🧵👇👇👇 Happy to share that @iveydyson.bsky.social and I have a report out today on the use of AI-driven data fusion tools by police departments. 1/23 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

OUR @wsj.com OPED: The AI bubble debate misses what's already happening: a massive gov bailout, fast-tracked infrastructure, guaranteed contracts & regulatory exemptions. AI firms get a taxpayer-funded insurance policy that dot-com companies could only dream of. www.wsj.com/opinion/you-...

The provisions in this year's NDAA changing how the military acquires and tests weapons would increase waste and undermine the Pentagon’s ability to discern the proper role of emerging technologies like AI in filling capability gaps, write @amostoh.bsky.social and Julia Gledhill.

Here’s my analysis of NSPM-7 & the antifa EO. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

The military already wastes billions on subpar weapons. What's stopping it from doing the same with AI? If defense contractors have their way, almost nothing. My deep dive into the wild and wacky world of "acquisition reform" with @juliagledhill.bsky.social: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/how-...

NEW: Internal report reveals DHS intelligence portal was accidentally opened to tens of thousands of users for months, exposing sensitive intel about Americans. @brennancenter.org obtained the docs. @wired.com has the story. 🧵 www.wired.com/story/a-dhs-...

THREAD: This morning, President Trump and members of his cabinet announced a set of sweeping, unprecedented, and unwarranted actions to impose federal control over local policing in Washington, D.C.

@amostoh.bsky.social explains what the new AI EO is really about: “These restrictions feign a commitment to truth and impartiality while expecting tech companies to fall in line with the administration’s version of reality.”

According to my @brennancenter.org colleague @sreynolds.bsky.social, DHS' secretive intelligence arm "analyzes contents of phones or laptops seized by agencies like CBP and ICE, comparing them with personal data to create detailed pictures of people, their social networks, and their habits"

Essential reading on border surveillance tech, its human impact, and the risk it will move inward. As part of this apparatus, a U.S. Intelligence Community element helps CBP analyze the phones and laptops it seizes at the border. I spoke with the author about the activity's lax rules and risks.

A more comprehensive analysis for @brennancenter.org of how the Trump administration's latest AI policy could leave us more divided and less informed: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

1/ Yesterday, the Trump administration announced its AI Action Plan - a pillar of which is an executive order that vows to end federal procurement of “woke AI.” The order would not only chill speech but also make the technology more unreliable and untrustworthy. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

The United States sued Los Angeles over its sanctuary laws, which direct agencies not to help federal immigration enforcement. The suit follows others, and threats to cut funding and prosecute local officials. These actions violate the Constitution: 1/ www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

1/ The government is fielding AI to gather intelligence, patrol borders, and fight wars. My latest in @lawfaremedia.org explains how Congress should step up its scrutiny of the ways taxpayer dollars are spent on acquiring and developing these systems: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/narr...

New Op-Ed from me and @smw.bsky.social in the @nytimes.com today! We discuss how the rush to implement AI within national and defence infrastructure (including in weapons) may in fact threaten, rather than preserve, US national security. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/o...

Incredible news out of the White House this morning and hope the Biden administration continues to grant more clemency to thousands whose sentences continue to be disproportionately long www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo...