Anthropic says it blocked use of bad actors developing bioweapons

Anthropic released a 154-page threat intelligence report on Thursday detailing how bad actors have attempted to use its Claude AI models for scams, mass surveillance, and biological weapons development, including a May incident in which its biological safety classifier blocked a request to help author a grant application for gain-of-function research on the chikungunya virus at a military research institute. The report's release came days after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned, claiming the company was not acting responsibly with AI development. "Do not underestimate the power of this technology," Coxon said on X. "These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources.

Anthropic https://www.salon.com/topic/anthropic , the AI tech company behind Claude, released a report Thursday detailing how bad actors have attempted to use its products for nefarious ends, from scams and mass surveillance to biological weapons development. “We’re publishing this work because we believe we have a responsibility to disclose malicious misuse of our services,” the San Francisco company said in its 154-page report https://www.anthropic.com/threat-intelligence-report-september-2026 . “As models become increasingly capable, their risks will increase, unless AI developers and society’s defenders act to make them safer.” For example, last May, Anthropic’s biological safety classifier blocked a request for Claude’s assistance in authoring a grant application for scientific funding. The reason was that the project was for research into the highly contagious virus known as chikungunya https://www.salon.com/topic/chikungunya . So-called gain-of-function research can theoretically make viruses more transmissible or more deadly. “Similar research could certainly be used in the development of better vaccines and therapeutics for the virus — but it could also be used to make the pathogen more dangerous,” Anthropic wrote. To make matters more suspicious, the proposed research facility was a military research institute. Start your day with essential news from Salon. Sign up for our free morning newsletter https://www.salon.com/newsletter?utm source=onsite&utm medium=organic&utm campaign=crash-course-edit-signup , Crash Course. Even though Anthropic has released similar threat assessment reports in the past, the timing for this one comes just days after Jacob Coxon, an Anthropic researcher, resigned https://apnews.com/article/anthropic-ai-safety-jacob-coxon-2ed549e07f2f941600a135070487d83d from the company, claiming they were not acting responsibly with AI development. “Do not underestimate the power of this technology,” Coxon said https://x.com/hilbertspaess/status/2097476196791709843 on X. “These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources. We have all witnessed the progress in each of these domains, and progress is not slowing.”