The fallout over OpenAI's Pentagon deal is growing
NEWS | 09 March 2026
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a deal with the Pentagon in February. Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a deal with the Pentagon in February. Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt. Impact Link For OpenAI, securing a high-profile deal with the Pentagon would normally be grounds for celebration. Instead, the company is navigating a wave of backlash from both staffers and consumers over how its AI tech could be weaponized. CEO Sam Altman announced the agreement, which gave the Pentagon access to its AI models, on February 28, days after rival Anthropic rejected a similar deal. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said his company wouldn't agree to anything without assurances that the technology wouldn't be used to power autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance. "We cannot in good conscience accede to their request," Amodei said at the time. Altman moved to amend the deal amid mounting criticism. It wasn't enough to quell the backlash, however, which came fast and threatened both OpenAI's reputation and its reign as the world's most popular chatbot maker.
Author: Lakshmi Varanasi. Lauren Edmonds.
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