Palantir built America's surveillance state. OpenAI abandoned its founding mission for billions. And when Anthropic refused to let the military weaponize its AI, the President tried to destroy them for it.
The most powerful AI companies in America are operating without rules, without public consent, and with billions in government money.
There is no federal AI law. There is no oversight agency. The people writing the rules in Washington are the same people getting rich in Silicon Valley. And when one company drew a line on what its AI could be used for, the full power of the presidency came down on them. This is not a hypothetical future problem. It is happening right now.
Founded with CIA money in 2003. Now holds contracts with ICE, NSA, and the U.S. Army. Its software helped plan mass deportation raids and tracks people without their knowledge. Made $2.35 billion from the government in 2023 alone.
Started in 2015 as a nonprofit to keep AI safe for humanity. Then took billions from Microsoft, restructured as for-profit, signed a Pentagon deal through defense contractor Anduril, and lobbied against AI safety regulations. Now worth $157 billion.
Anthropic had a $200 million Pentagon contract with two non-negotiable rules: no mass surveillance of American citizens, and no fully autonomous weapons. The Department of Defense demanded those rules be removed. Anthropic said no. CEO Dario Amodei wrote publicly that the company could not in good conscience agree. Within 24 hours, everything exploded.
"The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution."
President Donald Trump, Truth Social, February 27, 2026Defense Secretary Hegseth labeled Anthropic a national security supply chain risk, a designation reserved for foreign enemy nations, never before applied to an American company. Every contractor doing business with the U.S. military was told to cut ties with Anthropic immediately.
Hours after the ban, OpenAI swooped in and announced its own Pentagon deal, claiming to hold the same safety values as Anthropic. The Pentagon apparently had no problem with OpenAI's identical principles. Nobody has explained why.
Federal Judge Rita Lin blocked the ban in March 2026, calling it illegal First Amendment retaliation. She wrote: "Nothing in the governing statute supports the Orwellian notion that an American company may be branded a potential adversary for expressing disagreement with the government."
Require AI companies to test for harm before deployment and make results public.
Bar officials from going straight from regulating AI companies to working for them.
Any AI deal between a tech company and the government must be disclosed.
No American company should be punished for refusing to build autonomous weapons.
I urge every American to demand that Congress pass real AI oversight laws before these tools are turned against the very people they are supposed to serve.