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 AI 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.
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. The move happened in the wake of a showdown with Anthropic, which had demanded that its technology not be used for mass surveillance of Americans or autonomous weapons deployment.
“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.
In his post, Altman 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.
