OpenAI claims it has accomplished what Anthropic couldn’t: securing a Pentagon contract that won’t cross professed red lines against dragnet domestic spying and the use of artificial intelligence to order lethal military strikes. Just don’t expect any proof.
Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, announced the company’s big win with the Defense Department in a post on X on February 27.
“Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems,” he wrote. The Pentagon “agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement.”
The deal came after the very public implosion of what was to be a similar contract between the U.S. military and Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s chief rivals. Anthropic had said negotiations collapsed because it could not enshrine prohibitions against killer robots and domestic spying in its contract. The company’s insistence on these two points earned it the wrath of the Pentagon and President Donald Trump, who ordered the government to phase out use of Anthropic’s tools within six months.
But if the government booted Anthropic for refusing mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, how could OpenAI take over the contract without having the same problem?
OpenAI has attempted to square this circle through a string of posts to X by company executives and researchers, including Katrina Mulligan, its national security chief, and a claim by Altman that the company negotiated stricter protections around domestic surveillance.
The company and the government, however, are not releasing the only proof that matters: the contract itself.
The Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment.
OpenAI on Surveillance and Autonomous Killings: You’re Going to Have to Trust Us
https://theintercept.com/2026/03/08/openai-anthropic-military-contract-ethics-surveillance/
58 Comments
AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works · 109 pts · 169d
I'm no AI, so take this with a grain of salt, but my own facial recognition training tells me that's not the facial expression of somebody who makes a habit of being very open and honest
krimson@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 169d
I haven't seen a single picture of this guy where he doesn't look like a completely deranged fuck.
kautau@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 169d
Yeah there’s a reason Anthropic was founded by basically the entire OpenAI research team in one go, I can’t imagine working under this guy
supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz · 79 pts · 169d
I trust Sam Altman less than I trust what random internet advertisements say.
AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works · 26 pts · 169d
Maybe he's telling the truth and by "prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems,” he means human responsibility is strictly prohibited.
definitely_AI@feddit.online · 6 pts · 169d
Anyone care to join me for a belt of whiskey?
ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 169d
I trust him less than I trust Temu ads.
wltr@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 169d
Hey, but the deal is expired in 11 hours, are you gonna buy it for the lowest price in the universe? By the way, only one item (on the planet) left, hurry up plz.
Nora@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 169d
the secret 9 out of 10 doctors want you to know is there are untrustworthy Sam Altman in your area!
definitely_AI@feddit.online · 57 pts · 169d
ozymandias117@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 169d
I hadn't noticed how closely Altman resembles Phelps until the side by side in this thread
droans@lemmy.world · 42 pts · 169d
You know the one thing I never see mentioned?
These systems were trained on 4Chan, Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter posts and comments. They weren't trained on military communication, guidelines, etc.
They know more about Call of Duty than they know about actual warfare. What the fuck do you think they're gonna recommend?
surewhynotlem@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 169d
Analysis complete...
Iran strategy: nuke from orbit. Fuck his mom. Teabag the corpse.
AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works · 18 pts · 169d
Honestly, this applies to the entire DOW under Hegseth. The fact that we even have to use a term like "double tap" to describe genocide and war crimes committed by the U.S. and have Marco Rubio tweeting about it with fucking emojis is so fucking disgusting and shameful, but also part of the propaganda they're relying on to sell this back to their base.
It down plays the seriousness of the entire situation, and makes naive people feel much safer than they should. Almost like a stranger in a van offering candy to kids, so that by the time they realize they're in danger it's too late.
Propaganda aside and more to the point of why it's so dangerous, you might find this article posted a while back interesting. You're absolutely right, and the point should really be brought up all the time, but it never is.
We've always know war is good business. If you can create eternal war, you never have to worry about peacetime getting in the way of your profits. So how can you create the world where war never has to end.
Private Tech Companies, the State, and the New Character of War https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/12/ukraine-war-tech-companies
EdgeOfDistraction@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 169d
AI slop.
7101334@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 169d
Nuclear war, it's gonna recommend nuclear war. Or at least threatening it at a bare minimum.
justsomeguy@lemmy.world · 39 pts · 169d
Trust me bro, just one more data center, bro, I swear, just one more trillion dollar contract and we'll fix everything, bro please, just a little killing bro, it'll be fine, trust me.
Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works · 36 pts · 169d
My power bill has literally doubled in one year. It's largely this guy's fault.
Fuck AI.
some_designer_dude@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 169d
For less than the cost of several cups of coffee a day, you too are making a difference in a billionaire’s life.
bus_factor@lemmy.world · 31 pts · 169d
Altman is a well known liar. He was even fired by the board of OpenAI for lying to them previously.
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk · 27 pts · 169d
No, I don't think I will.
sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 169d
Yeah, should have been "Trust us...or not. Doesn't matter, we'll do what we want regardless."
dumbass@piefed.social · 27 pts · 169d
Yeah, let's trust the dude who molested his sister.
willington@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 26 pts · 169d
Fuck all billionaires.
MisterD@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 169d
No more billionaires
7101334@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 169d
[REDACTED] all billionaires.
teft@piefed.social · 20 pts · 169d
Altman has lied numerous times in his professional career. If anyone believes him they’ll get exactly what they deserve.
artyom@piefed.social · 3 pts · 169d
More like we'll all get what he deserves.
hitmyspot@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 169d
Most people would be surprised if he was transparently honest at any point in his professional career. It's all spin and lies.
artyom@piefed.social · 17 pts · 169d
Okay so when the Pentagon inevitably violates the agreement, you'll walk away from your likely multi-hundred-million dollar military contract and accept being blackballed the same way Anthropic was?
Yeah, I don't think so.
Casterial@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 169d
They're bankrupt, so no. This is desperation at it's finest
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca · 14 pts · 169d
There are few people I trust less than Sam Altman.
Cellari@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 169d
... yeah that's the problem, I don't :D
SethTaylor@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 169d
Sam! Quick! Suck my balls! Trust me, they taste like candy!
henfredemars@infosec.pub · 10 pts · 169d
Trust me! Pay no attention to the huge heaps of cash money.
unmagical@lemmy.ml · 10 pts · 169d
I trust that they will aid in extrajudicial surveillance and autonomous killings.
SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org · 9 pts · 169d
HAHAHAHAHAHAfuck you.
kalkulat@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 169d
"You’re Going to Have to Trust Us"
Is that anything like "Don't Be Evil"? (Google motto, 2004. No definition of evil followed.)
Reagan once said "Trust But Verify". So ... where can we do that at? (and who pays?)
Doomsider@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 169d
This is our new future, the face of a mass murderer, the face of indifference.
RblScmNerfHerder@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 169d
Never trust Faro.
psycho_driver@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 169d
Can you give them their next 85 billion infusion of cash? No? Just gonna have to trust them then.
IWW4@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 169d
How ‘bout NO
XLE@piefed.social · 6 pts · 169d
The only difference between OpenAI and Anthropic is the amount donated to the Trump campaign. That's it. Ethically they are identical. Their "red lines" are both actually green lights.
billwashere@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 169d
Um… no I don’t.
SauceFlexr@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 169d
We need a monthly AI generated report. Instead of Executice Summary at the top, it gives a Casualties and Surveillance Summary.
sqauffle@slrpnk.net · 4 pts · 169d
That is such a stupid looking face lol
cley_faye@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 169d
How about no, for a change.
Treczoks@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 169d
Out of experience, I trust neither you, your company, nor your product. Especially not with vital functions.
some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org · 1 pts · 169d
I don't know why anyone would question why a psychopath with too much money would lie. I mean, c'mon everyone. What does he have to gain?!
I wish he'd eat a homeless man's ass.
ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 169d
You're living in a Metal Gear game, but there's no Snake, and there's no Raiden!
Redvenom@retrolemmy.com · 1 pts · 169d
Trust me bro.. Fuck NO!
bebabalula@feddit.dk · 1 pts · 169d
Good thing they’re so trustworthy then…
WorldsDumbestMan@lemmy.today · 1 pts · 169d
I bet Anthropic secretly sells your data anyway. I use it knowing this, at least I'm a nobody in Palantir's eyes.
7101334@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 169d
All AI is for losers.
If you have to use any, like ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO for some reason, then use Deepseek. Glory to the CCP robot.
percent@infosec.pub · 1 pts · 169d
Why Deepseek?
7101334@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 169d
Better to be surveilled by a foreign entity than a domestic one. Otherwise all those tax dollars going to ""defense"" are being wasted.
MousePotatoDoesStuff@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 169d
You can also run it independently since it's actually open (unlike OpenAI).
Maybe rent cloud compute locally for low latency if you don't have enough RAM sticks to feed the AI with?
SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 169d
I'd trust a business with "equity" or "capital" in its name before him.