OpenAI’s Sam Altman announces Pentagon deal with ‘technical safeguards’

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) allowing the use of OpenAI’s AI models within the department’s classified network. This deal includes explicit technical safeguards addressing key ethical concerns, such as prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and ensuring human responsibility for the use of force, including autonomous weapons. Altman emphasized that these principles are reflected in DoD laws and policies and that OpenAI will deploy engineers to work with the Pentagon to ensure the models’ safety. He also stated that OpenAI is advocating for these same terms to be adopted by all AI companies to promote reasonable agreements and reduce legal conflicts. The announcement follows a contentious standoff between the Pentagon and Anthropic, a rival AI company, which failed to reach a similar agreement due to disagreements over ethical limits on military use of AI. Anthropic’s CEO expressed concerns that AI could undermine democratic values in certain cases, leading to federal agencies phasing out Anthropic’s