OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said that the company's rush to forge a deal with the Defense Department - following a clash between the Pentagon and rival Anthropic PBC - looked "opportunistic and sloppy."
In a post on the X social media service, Altman said his company was working with the department to "make some additions in our agreement to make our principles very clear." That includes ensuring that AI isn't used for domestic surveillance of Americans and that intelligence agencies like the National Security Agency can't rely on OpenAI services.
Here is re-post of an internal post:
— Sam Altman (@sama) March 3, 2026
We have been working with the DoW to make some additions in our agreement to make our principles very clear.
1. We are going to amend our deal to add this language, in addition to everything else:
"• Consistent with applicable laws,…
The remarks follow an announcement late Friday that Altman had reached an agreement to let the Pentagon deploy OpenAI's artificial intelligence models in its classified network. That happened after a showdown with Anthropic, which had demanded its technology not be used for mass surveillance of Americans or autonomous weapons deployment.
The rare admission from OpenAI's chief emerged days after Anthropic's main app topped Apple Inc.'s download charts, reflecting a surge of support for the company during its feud with the Pentagon.
Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei have clashed repeatedly in the past over seemingly divergent approaches to AI development. Their competition intensified this year with a series of advances by Anthropic - most notably the growing popularity of its Claude Code suite, which surpassed OpenAI's Codex in market adoption.
But in its latest post, OpenAI made a point of saying it disagreed with the Defense Department's decision to blacklist its arch-foe. The startup added it will host an all-hands meeting this week to address its own employees' questions.
Anthropic earlier stipulated that its products not be used to surveil Americans or make fully autonomous weapons, and said on Friday "no amount of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will change our position." OpenAI announced its own pact with the Pentagon mere hours after Anthropic's blacklisting.
ALSO READ | Pentagon Taps OpenAI After Kicking Off Anthropic From US Defence Systems
OpenAI emphasized that it will add language to the Pentagon pact to ensure its own platform won't be used for domestic surveillance.
"There are many things the technology just isn't ready for, and many areas we don't yet understand the trade-offs required for safety," Altman said.
He said his company was hasty in making its deal with the Pentagon.
"We shouldn't have rushed to get this out on Friday," he said. "The issues are super complex, and demand clear communication."
He described it as a "good learning experience" as the San Francisco-based company faces high-stakes decisions in the future.
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