February 25 Member Morning Report: U.S. Department of Defense forces Claude to be used for military purposes, AMD secures a $60 billion major order

[U.S. Department of Defense Pressures Claude for Military Use] The U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has demanded that AI lab Anthropic relax its access to the Pentagon’s Claude model by this Friday. During a meeting with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Hegseth threatened to classify Anthropic as a “supply chain risk” (which would prevent any defense contractor from using Claude) or to invoke the Defense Production Act to compel Anthropic to cooperate.

[AMD Secures $60 Billion Deal] Meta has agreed to purchase AI chips from American chip manufacturer AMD worth up to $60 billion over the next five years. The agreement also allows Meta to buy up to 10% of AMD’s shares. This “reciprocal” arrangement—linking procurement and equity—is similar to AMD’s deal with OpenAI last year.

[Goldman Sachs Says AI Investment Contributes Zero to U.S. Economy] Goldman Sachs states that despite significant investments by U.S. companies in AI, the import of chips and hardware offsets these investments’ actual impact on GDP, making AI investment’s contribution to U.S. GDP growth in 2025 essentially zero.

[Fed Official Warns: Monetary Policy May Fail to Address AI-Driven Unemployment] Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook warned Tuesday that the restructuring of the labor market driven by AI could put monetary policy in a dilemma—cutting interest rates may not effectively address structural unemployment and could push inflation higher.

[Apple Begins Fulfilling $600 Billion Investment Commitment] After announcing a $600 billion investment in the U.S. last year, Apple is accelerating its domestic manufacturing strategy. On February 24, Apple announced it will start producing the Mac mini in Houston later this year, marking the first time this product will be “Made in America.”