OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is doing some serious damage control. On Tuesday, he announced that the company is changing its new deal with the U.S. Department of Defense to explicitly forbid the use of its AI for mass surveillance on Americans.
In a memo to employees that he later posted publicly, Altman admitted that the company “shouldn’t have rushed” to announce the partnership. He said the timing “looked opportunistic” and that the issues were “super complex and demand clear communication.”
The deal was announced just after President Donald Trump ordered all government agencies to stop using AI from Anthropic, OpenAI’s main rival. The Trump administration had been pressuring Anthropic to remove its safety guardrails so the military could use its AI for “all lawful purposes,” including mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. When Anthropic refused, Trump issued the ban.
OpenAI then swooped in and signed its own deal with the Defense Department, a move that sparked a massive backlash online. Users flooded social media with calls to boycott ChatGPT, and uninstalls of the app skyrocketed by nearly 300%. In a stunning turn of events, Anthropic’s Claude AI shot to the number one spot on the App Store’s free charts, dethroning ChatGPT.
Now, Altman is trying to clean up the mess. He says the new agreement will specifically state that the AI “shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons.” He also claims he would rather go to jail than follow an unconstitutional order.
The whole episode is a messy, high-stakes drama that shows the intense pressure these AI companies are under as they navigate the treacherous waters of Washington politics.
