Large tech vendors are spending more than $70 billion per quarter on AI infrastructure, according to Gartner’s analysis, with six major tech companies, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Alibaba and Oracle, investing over $300 billion in 2025. That scale rivals the economic output of many countries, Greene pointed out.
For advertisers and enterprises that rely on AI platforms, Greene said, that means scrutinizing not just product capabilities but also the political and strategic relationships behind them.
“If you’re a U.S company, are you going to be comfortable using a model that has a strategic alliance with China?” Greene said. “These are global infrastructures that are going to have these new partnerships with governments that’s going to impact how much customers, not only trust that platform, but how much they trust the media being distributed through that platform.”
In that sense, the Anthropic dispute is less about one contract and more about how AI platforms will operate within evolving geopolitical ecosystems.
Brand Safety Risks
The Pentagon’s designation has already led to brands in the regulated sector—such as banks and financial institutions—evaluting its compliance reviews with Anthropic.
“Anybody who is close to government services has had to suddenly assemble a war room like an emergency session of subject matter experts and decision makers and evaluate the risk,” said Brian Bauer, vice president of AI products at Rational Exponent, which works with banks and financial institutions.
For advertisers, the standoff also underscores that AI models increasingly carry brand identities tied to their creators. Models like Claude and ChatGPT often reflect the positioning of their parent companies—whether emphasizing safety, openness or rapid innovation. That identity shapes how users and businesses perceive them.
ChatGPT uninstalls in the U.S surged 295% day-over-day on February 28, as people responded to the news of the AI company’s deal with the Department of War, according to Sensor Tower.
Bauer said sentiment toward AI models typically develops over time and is unlikely to change overnight because of a single policy dispute. Still, controversies involving governments or national security could shift perception if a major incident occurs.