OpenAI reached an agreement with the US Department of Defense for AI use just hours after US President Donald Trump terminated Anthropic’s deals with the government. OpenAI’s decision to replace Anthropic was met with criticism online. Following the backlash, Sam Altman and other executives have shared more details of how this contract will work.
On X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted that the deal had been “rushed” and the optics “don’t look good” for the company. However, according to Altman, the AI startup wanted to de-escalate the situation between the US Military and the AI industry. He wrote, “If we are right and this does lead to a de-escalation between the DoW and the industry, we will look like geniuses.”
However, Altman admitted that the AI startup could face further criticism if things go sideways. He added, “If not, we will continue to be characterized as rushed and uncareful.”
Anthropic was labeled a supply chain risk by the US government after Dario Amodei refused to accept the Pentagon’s demands for unrestricted AI use. Though the removal of Anthropic’s Claude from classified networks won’t happen overnight, with a 6-month transition period in place.
OpenAI states 3 red lines over Military AI use
The AI startup shared a blog post, giving more details. OpenAI claimed that apart from Anthropic’s red lines over no use of AI for mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons systems, the company also mandated that its AI models should not be used “for high-stakes automated decisions (e.g. systems such as “social credit”).”
The Sam Altman-led AI firm states that its models will be deployed via the cloud. According to OpenAI’s head of national security partnerships, Katrina Mulligan, this ensures that the AI is not used for autonomous weapons. She wrote on LinkedIn, “By limiting our deployment to cloud API, we can ensure that our models cannot be integrated directly into weapons systems, sensors, or other operational hardware.”
OpenAI claims that the Cloud deployment of its AI models along with its safety stack allows for a “multi-layered approach,” instead of just contract clauses.
Sam Altman says OpenAI will not allow for unconstitutional use of AI
OpenAI’s contract with the US Department of Defense allows for the use of AI “for all lawful purposes.” When asked if OpenAI will allow its models to be used for any unconstitutional order, Sam Altman said, “If we are confident it’s unconstitutional, we wouldn’t follow it. The constitution is more important than any job, or staying out of jail, or whatever.”
The OpenAI website also states that it can terminate the contract if the Pentagon violates any terms. The company also states, “We don’t expect that to happen.”
