WASHINGTON: AI company Anthropic says it disrupted multiple state-sponsored surveillance operations that used its AI models for intelligence gathering between January and July.
According to the company, the cases originated in China, Iran and West Africa and targeted dissidents and ethnic minority communities, including pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners and Iranian opponents abroad.
In one case, Iranian actors allegedly used AI to identify individuals through their social media accounts. In another, a contractor linked to Mali’s national security authorities reportedly used Anthropic’s Claude model to develop software for intelligence gathering.
Anthropic warned that governments and state-aligned actors are increasingly using AI to conduct surveillance and automate tasks traditionally carried out by human technical teams.
The company said the developments highlight growing concerns over the use of advanced AI technology in state-sponsored intelligence and surveillance activities.
