US used AI tool ‘Claude’ to capture Venezuela’s Maduro:In a first in secret missions, American agents used it to help plan the Caracas raid

The US Department of Defense used the AI tool ‘Claude’ to capture former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. This is the first time AI has been used in such a large and secret operation. This information has come to light in a report by ‘The Wall Street Journal’. The US military arrested Maduro after bombing Caracas in early January. He is accused of drug trafficking. He is currently in a New York jail. AI was used through data firm Palantir According to reports, the US military used Claude not directly from Anthropic, but through the data company Palantir. Palantir already works for the US Department of Defense and the Federal Police. Considering Anthropic’s concerns, the Trump administration is now considering canceling its $200 million (approx. ₹1,800 crore) contract. Ban on the use of Claude AI for violence Anthropic, the company that created Claude AI, said, “We cannot comment on any specific operation, but every user is bound by our ‘Usage Policy’.”
Claude AI’s guidelines clearly state that this technology cannot be used to spread violence, manufacture weapons, or spy on anyone. Also read: Bengaluru-based techie built an AI-based smoking detector

US military will not use AI that prevents it from fighting wars The US Department of Defense wants companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to make their tools available on the military’s classified network without any commercial restrictions. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently said that “We will not use AI models that prevent us from fighting wars.” Google and Microsoft are also in this race Anthropic is the first AI company to be used in secret military operations, but it is not alone. Elon Musk’s company xAI, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft-backed OpenAI are also busy developing special AI platforms for the military.
Currently, these are being used for analysing documents, generating reports, and conducting research. What is Anthropic’s ‘Claude’ AI? Claude is an advanced AI chatbot proficient in tasks like text generation, data analysis, and coding. It was started in 2021 by former OpenAI executives. Recently, after a funding round, Anthropic’s valuation has reached 380 billion dollars, which is approximately 34 lakh crore rupees. Also read: Is your Google Account logged in on another device?

Knowledge Part: How does AI help in war? In military operations, AI is primarily used for these tasks: