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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei accuses OpenAI of 'straight up lies' over military deal, report says
Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei is not happy — and perhaps understandably so — with OpenAI chief Sam Altman. In a memo to staff reported by The Information, Amodei described OpenAI’s dealings with the Department of Defense as “safety theater.”
“The main reason [OpenAI] accepted [the DoD’s deal] and we did not is that they cared about placating employees, while we actually cared about preventing abuses,” Amodei wrote.
Last week, Anthropic and the U.S. Department of Defense were unable to reach an agreement after the military sought unrestricted access to the AI company’s technology. Anthropic, which already held a $200 million contract with the military, insisted that the DoD commit to not using its AI for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons.
Instead, the DoD — rebranded under the Trump administration as the Department of War — struck a deal with OpenAI. Altman stated that the new defense contract would include safeguards against the same red lines Anthropic had drawn.
In a letter to staff, Amodei referred to OpenAI’s messaging as “straight up lies,” accusing Altman of falsely “presenting himself as a peacemaker and dealmaker.”
Amodei may not be speaking purely from a place of bitterness here. Anthropic specifically objected to the DoD’s demand that the company’s AI be available for “any lawful use.” OpenAI said in a blog post that its contract allows use of its AI systems for “all lawful purposes.”
“It was clear in our interaction that the DoW considers mass domestic surveillance illegal and was not planning to use it for this purpose,” OpenAI’s blog post stated. “We ensured that the fact that it is not covered under lawful use was made explicit in our contract.”
Critics have pointed out that laws can change, and what is considered illegal today may become permitted in the future.
And the public appears to side with Anthropic. ChatGPT uninstalls jumped 295% after OpenAI finalized its deal with the DoD.
“I think this attempted spin/gaslighting is not working very well on the general public or the media, where people mostly see OpenAI’s deal with the DoW as sketchy or suspicious, and see us as the heroes (we’re #2 in the App Store now!),” Amodei wrote to his staff. “It is working on some Twitter morons, which doesn’t matter, but my main worry is how to make sure it doesn’t work on OpenAI employees.”
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![KeithNelson]()
Honestly, watching these AI giants play politics with the military is wild. Dario calling it 'safety theater' feels spot on—seems like they're just using safety as a PR shield while fighting for contracts. Makes you wonder if we're getting true innovation or just expensive bureaucracy with better marketing. 🤔📉
Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei is not happy — and perhaps understandably so — with OpenAI chief Sam Altman. In a memo to staff reported by The Information, Amodei described OpenAI’s dealings with the Department of Defense as “safety theater.”
“The main reason [OpenAI] accepted [the DoD’s deal] and we did not is that they cared about placating employees, while we actually cared about preventing abuses,” Amodei wrote.
Last week, Anthropic and the U.S. Department of Defense were unable to reach an agreement after the military sought unrestricted access to the AI company’s technology. Anthropic, which already held a $200 million contract with the military, insisted that the DoD commit to not using its AI for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons.
Instead, the DoD — rebranded under the Trump administration as the Department of War — struck a deal with OpenAI. Altman stated that the new defense contract would include safeguards against the same red lines Anthropic had drawn.
In a letter to staff, Amodei referred to OpenAI’s messaging as “straight up lies,” accusing Altman of falsely “presenting himself as a peacemaker and dealmaker.”
Amodei may not be speaking purely from a place of bitterness here. Anthropic specifically objected to the DoD’s demand that the company’s AI be available for “any lawful use.” OpenAI said in a blog post that its contract allows use of its AI systems for “all lawful purposes.”
“It was clear in our interaction that the DoW considers mass domestic surveillance illegal and was not planning to use it for this purpose,” OpenAI’s blog post stated. “We ensured that the fact that it is not covered under lawful use was made explicit in our contract.”
Critics have pointed out that laws can change, and what is considered illegal today may become permitted in the future.
And the public appears to side with Anthropic. ChatGPT uninstalls jumped 295% after OpenAI finalized its deal with the DoD.
“I think this attempted spin/gaslighting is not working very well on the general public or the media, where people mostly see OpenAI’s deal with the DoW as sketchy or suspicious, and see us as the heroes (we’re #2 in the App Store now!),” Amodei wrote to his staff. “It is working on some Twitter morons, which doesn’t matter, but my main worry is how to make sure it doesn’t work on OpenAI employees.”
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Honestly, watching these AI giants play politics with the military is wild. Dario calling it 'safety theater' feels spot on—seems like they're just using safety as a PR shield while fighting for contracts. Makes you wonder if we're getting true innovation or just expensive bureaucracy with better marketing. 🤔📉
