Late on Friday, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, revealed that the organization has finalized an agreement with the Pentagon to utilize its AI technologies within classified military systems. This agreement reportedly includes similar safeguards that rival company Anthropic had previously sought.
This announcement coincided with President Donald Trump’s directive for all federal agencies to cease the use of Anthropic’s AI tools. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth labeled the company a “supply chain risk” following its unwillingness to comply with Pentagon requests concerning restrictions on its AI for autonomous weaponry and domestic surveillance.
Altman’s announcement implied that the Pentagon has agreed to similar constraints for OpenAI’s models.
“Two of our core safety principles are the prohibition of domestic mass surveillance and establishing human accountability for the use of force, especially regarding autonomous weapon systems. The Department of War shares these values, as reflected in our laws and policies, and they are incorporated into our agreement,” Altman stated on X. “We will also implement technical safeguards to ensure that our models function as intended, a requirement emphasized by the Department of War as well.”
He also mentioned that engineers from OpenAI would be deployed to the Pentagon to assure the safety and functionality of their models.
“We encourage the Department of War to extend the same terms to all AI companies, as we believe this is a standard that should be universally accepted. We have expressed our strong desire to move away from legal confrontations and toward reasonable agreements,” Altman asserted.
In a separate development, Anthropic announced its intention to legally contest the designation of “supply chain risk,” which is typically reserved for companies with ties to foreign adversaries. This status would require all military contractors to demonstrate that their work does not involve Anthropic’s products.
The specifics of what differentiates OpenAI’s agreement with the Pentagon from Anthropic’s requests remain unclear.
CNN has reached out to both the Pentagon and OpenAI for clarification regarding the details of these agreements.
Hegseth shared Altman’s announcement on X, while Under Secretary Emil Michael, who oversees technology at the Pentagon, commented separately on the platform, stating, “In matters critical to the safety of our service members, having a dependable partner that engages sincerely is paramount as we navigate the new era of AI.”
