How a Contractor’s Claude Agent Got Into the Pentagon

This week on Uncanny Valley, Brian Barrett, Leah Feiger, and Zoë Schiffer dive into our scoop on how a defense contractor connected Claude Code to a secure Department of Defense system. We also discuss the green, yellow, and red flags we see in Anthropic’s IPO filing—and why it’s a test not just for the AI industry, but for the entire US economy—and how volunteers nationwide are preparing for ICE agents potentially showing up at polling sites in the midterms.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

• A Defense Contractor Gave Their Personal AI Agent Access to a Secure Pentagon System
• The Anthropic S-1 Filing Is Also an AI Doomsday Primer
• What’s Worth More Than Cash in San Francisco Real Estate? Anthropic Stock
• Massive Groups of Volunteers Are Ready to Face Down ICE at the Polls

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 [email protected].

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Transcript

Note: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors.

Brian Barrett: Welcome to the WIRED's Uncanny Valley. I'm Brian Barrett, executive editor.

Zoë Schiffer: I'm Zoë Schiffer, contributing editor.

Leah Feiger: And I'm Leah Feiger, director of politics and science.

Zoë Schiffer: This week, Anthropic has officially filed to go public. There is a lot going on in the hundreds of pages that the company submitted as part of its S-1 filing, from staggering earnings and losses, to warnings of AI's existential threat. Obviously, we're talking about Anthropic here. We'll discuss our key takeaways and why this IPO is kind of high stakes, not just for the AI industry, but honestly the entire US economy.

Brian Barrett: Yes.

Leah Feiger: I'm astounded by how much money is at play here. This is, yes.

Leah Feiger: I don't know.