Anthropic's Claude has been used in Pentagon targeting — including the Iran strike that killed more than 150 civilians. Non-state actors like the Houthis have used Claude to help build guided weapons. And the AI industry is racing to embed itself deeper into the military-industrial complex, with no sign of slowing down.

At the same time, the same executives warning that AI could wipe out humanity within a decade — echoed by Anthropic's own safety lead — are lobbying against regulation so their companies can "win" the AI race against China. Courtney and Alex dig into what's actually driving the extinction-panic op-eds flooding the discourse, and why the doomsday framing conveniently never seems to slow down deployment.

That same "national security" logic doesn't stop at the water's edge. It's the justification behind warrantless AI license-plate tracking at home, and behind Anthropic's own hiring push for a "pre-crime" role built to flag activists. Are we prepared for the kind of danger this actually creates — like the AI chatbot error that nearly triggered a US-China crisis this spring?

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Why is America always at war? Join the Quincy Institute’s Courtney Rawlings and Alex Jordan as they expose the monied interests, outdated ideologies, and entrenched powers that have driven the U.S. to wage nearly 400 wars and interventions.

They’ll be joined by journalists, advocates, and experts to uncover who profits from America’s endless conflicts, and to imagine how we can build a better, more peaceful U.S. foreign policy.

Learn more about the Quincy Institute: quincyinst.org
Contact the show: alwaysatwar@quincyinst.org

Show art by Justin Hantz

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