OpenAI amends Pentagon deal as Sam Altman admits it looks ‘sloppy’

March 3, 2026

TL;DR

OpenAI is amending its deal to supply artificial intelligence to the US Department of War.
CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the deal appeared 'opportunistic and sloppy' and was made too quickly.
OpenAI will explicitly bar its AI technology from domestic mass surveillance and use by defense intelligence agencies like the NSA.
The deal followed the Pentagon's dropping of Anthropic as its AI contractor, which had warned against using AI for mass domestic surveillance.
Users launched a 'delete ChatGPT' campaign, and Anthropic's chatbot saw a surge in popularity.
Nearly 900 employees from OpenAI and Google signed an open letter opposing the military's use of AI for surveillance and autonomous killing.
OpenAI had previously stated that its deal had 'more guardrails' than Anthropic's and that its technology would not be used for autonomous weapons systems.
Critics, including former OpenAI policy research head Miles Brundage, expressed skepticism about the deal's ethical assurances.
Several other US government agencies have ceased using Anthropic's AI products.

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