This week on Uncanny Valley, our hosts look at what’s at stake for Anthropic after the company sued the Department of Defense. They also take a look at the strategy behind the Trump administration sharing action-filled war memes on social media, and share a scoop about how a controversial company is taking in millions in government contracts by helping organize America250 celebrations. Plus: Could AI come for the jobs of venture capitalists?
Articles mentioned in this episode:
- Anthropic Claims Pentagon Feud Could Cost It Billions
- A Trumpworld Events Company Is Raking In Millions in Federal Contracts
- OpenAI and Google Workers File Amicus Brief in Support of Anthropic Against the US Government
- Can AI Kill the Venture Capitalist?
You can follow Brian Barrett on Bluesky at @brbarrett, Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky at @zoeschiffer, and Leah Feiger on Bluesky at @leahfeiger. Write to us at uncannyvalley@….com.
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Transcript
Note: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors.
Brian Barrett: Hey, it's Brian. Zoë, Leah and I have really enjoyed being your new hosts these past few weeks, and we want to hear from you. If you like the show and have a minute, please leave us a review in the podcast or app of your choice. It really helps us reach more people, and for any questions and comments, you can always reach us at uncannyvalley@….com. Thank you for listening. On to the show.
Zoë Schiffer: Welcome to …'s Uncanny Valley. I'm Zoë Schiffer, director of business and industry.
Brian Barrett: I'm Brian Barrett, executive editor.
Leah Feiger: And I'm Leah Feiger, senior politics editor.
Zoë Schiffer: This week, we're diving into Anthropic's lawsuit against the Department of Defense after the company was labeled as a supply chain risk. We're also discussing why on earth the Trump administration is sharing action film memes about the war in Iran and how a little known events company formed by some of the organizers of the January 6th rally is making bank in Trump's second term in office. Also, we'll talk about whether venture capitalists should be worried about AI taking their jobs. OK. We have a ton to get into, so let's just dive right in. The saga between Anthropic and the Department of Defense is far from over. I actually think we're going to be hearing about this for many, many months to come. On Monday, Anthropic filed a lawsuit against the DOD pushing back against the agency's decision to label the company as a supply chain risk, which is pretty detrimental to Anthropic's business. Anthropic is basically arguing that the government is infringing upon its free speech rights, saying, quote, "The Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech." Now, that's the lawsuit that Anthropic filed in San Francisco, but there's another accompanying lawsuit that it filed in DC, which accuses the DOD of unfairly discriminating and retaliating against Anthropic. In the meantime, the company is also seeking a temporary restraining order to continue working with its military partners.
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