I have been critical of Anthropic before. The company rose quickly and is run primarily by founders who do not come from a conventional business leadership background. The company is governed with a strong spirit of ethics and stewardship.

While I have found their message to be a bit unprofessional, speculative and over the top at times, there’s no doubt that it’s honorable for a company to put its own ethics above lucrative business deals. As so many large corporations support ICE actions and government overreach, it’s nice to see a company that still is willing to stand up and do the right thing.

When it comes to using technology by militaries, the ethics get dicey fast. Is it okay to use technology for purely defensive roles? What if it is offensive, but in a justified conflict? Is it okay if it results in more deaths on the other side? What if a weapon is powerful but its impacts are based on how it is used? Should our commanders be trusted to use technology ethnically? Is it patriotic to provide tech to the military, because it may save out servivcepeople?

These are not easy questions, and companies grapple with them all the time. Some companies are card carrying defense contractors, and that’s just what they do. But war is an unusual situation: The aim is to kill people and cause maximum destruction. That’s at odds with most corporate ethics.