Anthropic says it shut down multiple state-sponsored surveillance operations that used its artificial intelligence models to target ethnic minorities and dissidents. In a report on misuse, the company says it disrupted these cases between January and July.
Anthropic reports that the campaigns originated in China, Iran, and West Africa. It says the targets include pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong, Tibetan and Falun Gong communities, and Iranian minority groups and people who oppose the Iranian government abroad. The report describes different approaches, including one case in which Iranian actors use social-media information to help identify individuals, and another in which a contractor working for Malian national security authorities used Claude to design software enabling intelligence gathering.
Across outlets, the key point is Anthropic’s warning that governments and state-aligned actors are increasingly using AI “in place of an engineering workforce” for surveillance. The reports also emphasize that the company is taking action to stop specific misuse cases rather than making broader claims about all AI activity or all users of its models.
