The dinner comes at a moment of open tension between Anthropic and the administration. Amodei recently released a plan calling for a more cautious approach to AI development, while Trump has insisted, without evidence, that the AI backlash is a Democratic hoax and has proposed rebranding the technology as "super intelligence."
The two men's relationship has been fraught. Earlier this year, the Pentagon designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk in response to the company's attempt to put guardrails around the use of its technology. Anthropic has been fighting the designation in court, although other administration officials have been friendlier toward the company in recent months.
Amodei is having a busy weekend. He was lampooned on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, and he was noticeably absent from Thursday's White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, which was attended by other top tech chief executives.