SAN FRANCISCO: Oracle’s Mike Sicilia is the latest software CEO to wade in to the debate on whether artificial intelligence tools that heavily automate human tasks will mean the demise of his industry.

His verdict was a resounding “no.” “You’ve all heard … that new companies coding quickly using AI will spell the death of SaaS (software as a service),” he told analysts on a conference call on Tuesday.

“I don’t agree with that at all. I do think that AI tools and their coding capabilities would be a threat if we weren’t adopting them, but we are, and very rapidly.”

Sicilia was responding to Wall Street concerns that new AI tools can now perform some of the tasks that traditional software companies’ products were built for, such as organising customer information or guiding people through business processes. Those worries led to a nearly $1 trillion rout in software stocks last month after heavyweight AI startup Anthropic introduced AI plugins for its Claude Cowork agent, a digital assistant that can automate such tasks. CEOs of software companies have since used their post-earnings conference calls to fight back.

Pentagon says ‘no chance’ of renewed Anthropic negotiations

No negotiations with Anthropic

Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael on Thursday ruled out negotiations with Anthropic after the agency labeled the AI lab a supply-chain risk in a dispute over restrictions on how the US military can use its technology.

“There’s no chance. The (Anthropic) leadership has proven, through the leaking and through sort of bad faith negotiation that they don’t want to reach an agreement,” Michael said in an interview with CNBC. Last week, the US Department of Defence labeled Anthropic a supply-chain risk, a move that effectively bans its technology from military use and bars government contractors from deploying it in work for the US armed forces.

Anthropic sued the Trump administration on Monday, calling the government’s actions unlawful, and said the move will put hundreds of millions of dollars worth of revenue in jeopardy.

The dispute is notable in part because Anthropic aggressively courted the US national security apparatus before most other AI companies. CEO Dario Amodei has said he is not opposed to AI-driven weapons, but believes the current generation of AI technology isn’t good enough to be accurate.

In a filing with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, Anthropic said the Pentagon’s supply-chain designation would cause the company “irreparable harm.”

According to Anthropic’s court filing, more than 100 enterprise customers have reached out to the company about the designation.

“By Anthropic’s best estimate, for 2026, the government’s adverse actions risk hundreds of millions, or even multiple billions, of dollars in lost revenue,” lawyers for the AI firm wrote.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2026