War and peace: Anthropic Vs OpenAI
The use of AI tools by the US Department of War for national security purposes has seen opposition from frontier labs for use in mass surveillance and autonomous weapons
Last Updated: Mar 06, 2026, 14:06 IST1 min
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In a Nutshell
- OpenAI faces backlash for Pentagon deal on AI use.
- OpenAI seeks to revise contract after rushed agreement.
- Anthropic was blacklisted before OpenAI signed with Pentagon.
It took less than a week for OpenAI’s “Pentagon win” to turn sour as CEO Sam Altman admitted that the company does not get to choose how the military uses its AI technology in an all-hands meeting, according to media reports.
The “oversight” has thrown criticism and boycott towards OpenAI for the haste with which it signed a deal with the US Department of War (DoW), soon after competitor Anthropic was blacklisted by the government.
To right things at least in hindsight, OpenAI is in discussions with the DoW to update the framework of its contract.
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According to a post on X, here is what Altman said on Tuesday: “One thing I think I did wrong: We shouldn't have rushed to get this out on Friday. The issues are super complex, and demand clear communication. We were genuinely trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy. Good learning experience for me as we face higher-stakes decisions in the future.”
While OpenAI reworks its contract with the DoW on the technicalities of the deal, how much control it can exercise on the use of its tools for mass surveillance of US personnel and nationals, and to regulate fully autonomous weapons without human oversight remains to be seen.
Here is how the events unfolded:
First Published: Mar 06, 2026, 14:06
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