OpenAI backtracks on Pentagon deal after user revolt, admits move was ‘sloppy'

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced amending the company’s hastily moved to deal with the U.S. Department of War.

The ChatGPT owners acknowledged that the agreement was “opportunistic and sloppy” triggering a mass exodus of users.

The backlash started when OpenAI filled the spot after Anthropic refused to remove safeguards against using its AI for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.

The Anthropic CEO called the demands “non-negotiable for democratic societies.”

When OpenAI came to fill the spot, it faced immediate and severe backlash from its users. The industry data revealed that the uninstallation of OpenAI’s chat bot ChatGPT surged 295% on Saturday, February 28.

Meanwhile, Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude skyrocketed to the top of Apple’s App Store charts, dethroning ChatGPT as the most downloaded free app in the U.S.

Additionally, netzines initiated a “delete ChatGPT” campaign referring to it as a war machine.

The move also faced an internal backlash. Around 100 OpenAI employees joined 796 Google staff in signing an open letter warning that the U.S. govt is trying to “divide each company with fear that the other will give in.”

They urged leadership to “stand together to continue to refuse the Department of War’s current demands.”

Considering all the backlash, Altman announced amendments in the deal with the Pentagon explicitly prohibiting the system from being “intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals.”

Intelligence agencies including the National Security Agency (NSA) will require specific contract modifications to access OpenAI’s technology.