# Pentagon tech chief: export controls can discipline AI labs

> Emil Michael says the US government has tools to keep AI companies in line, and has already used them against Anthropic.
- Title: Pentagon tech chief: export controls can discipline AI labs
- Summary: Emil Michael says the US government has tools to keep AI companies in line, and has already used them against Anthropic. Emil Michael, the Pentagon's chief…
- Keywords: emil michael, pentagon, export controls, anthropic, ai regulation, super intelligence force, technology, startups, tech, chief, export, controls
- Source: The Next Web — https://thenextweb.com/news/emil-michael-export-controls-ai-labs-anthropic-the-information
- Author: Alina Maria Stan
- Published: 2026-10-19T14:13:25+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: emil michael, pentagon, export controls, anthropic, ai regulation, super intelligence force, technology, startups
## Pentagon tech chief backs export controls
Emil Michael, the Pentagon's chief technology officer and vice chair of the White House's Super Intelligence Force, says export controls are an appropriate way to keep AI companies in line.
## Michael cites precedent and other tools
Michael pointed to past limits on exporting encryption and limits on foreign nationals using technology. The executive branch has many other tools, including enforcement by the Justice Department.
## Anthropic faced export controls within hours
According to Michael, Anthropic refused to pull back a model after the government found it was jailbroken. Within two hours, he said, the company was under export controls.
## Michael questions companies seeking regulation
Michael described companies that ask the government to stop them because they could do something dangerous, so rivals do not get there first. He said that made little sense.

> I'm the drunk driver in the car. You've got to pull me over.
## Anthropic remains out of Pentagon work
Anthropic is out of the Department of War, as the department said six months ago it would be.The Pentagon has labelled the company a supply chain risk.
## Pentagon AI adoption surges to 1.7 million users
About one point seven million of the department's three point five million employees now use AI, up from eighty thousand a year ago. In June, the Pentagon's AI platform had one point five million users.
## Key takeaway

Emil Michael, the Pentagon's chief technology officer, says export controls are an appropriate way to enforce compliance with the US government on AI companies that refuse to cooperate.