Anthropic CEO Criticizes OpenAI’s Defense Deal with the Pentagon

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Tensions are rising in the AI industry after Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, sharply criticized Sam Altman over his company’s defense partnership with the United States Department of Defense. In an internal memo to staff, Amodei reportedly called OpenAI’s approach “safety theater,” arguing that his company rejected the military’s request for unrestricted access to its AI because of concerns over potential misuse.

According to Amodei, Anthropic had asked the Pentagon to guarantee its technology would not be used for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. When the parties failed to reach an agreement, the Department of Defense instead struck a deal with OpenAI. Altman has said the contract includes safeguards, but Amodei claims those assurances are misleading and accused OpenAI of prioritizing internal optics over stricter protections.

[johnblockbuster]

pentagon: we want unrestricted access. openai: ok fine, here’s a contract that looks safe on paper