“The only reason we’re still talking to these people is we need them and we need them now. The problem for these guys is they are that good,” a Defense official told Axios ahead of the meeting.
I’m confused. Why would you ever say this before a negotiation :O
Department officials have even expressed concerns about the consequences of losing access to Claude.30 Describing the dispute between Anthropic and the Department, one official stated that “[t]he only reason we’re still talking to these people is we need them and we need them now. The problem for these guys is they are that good.” 31
Which I think is further evidence for my original contention that saying this was a strategic error.
I’m confused. Why would you ever say this before a negotiation :O
To use the most rationalist jargon ever, “Skill Issue”.
I thought this was video game jargon!
Know Your Meme says it started off as video game jargon; my impression is that it’s pretty common online outside of that.
Makes sense. I encountered it for the first time a handful of times in rationalist articles.
This exact line was later used in the Anthropic lawsuit against the DoW/DoD:
Which I think is further evidence for my original contention that saying this was a strategic error.