The showdown between the Department of War and Anthropic ended on a positive note for OpenAI as the ChatGPT-maker secured a contract with the Pentagon to deploy technology on the department’s classified network. As the dust settles on one of the most dramatic confrontations, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has turned his attention to the tech giants with a pointed message for Silicon Valley. The announcement of OpenAI getting the government contract drew immediate scrutiny, with questions arising on the timing of the ChatGPT-maker stepping in to fill the void left by Anthropic. When asked directly how long negotiations with the Department of War had been ongoing and why the deal was announced so close to the deadline given to Anthropic, Altman made it clear that the conversations with the Pentagon had been underway for some time, hinting that the timing of the public announcement was not as calculated as it may have appeared to outside observers. Altman said:For a long time, we were planning to non-classified work only. We thought the DoW clearly needed an AI partner, and doing classified work is clearly much more complex. We have said no to previous deals in classified settings that Anthropic took.We started talking with the DoW many months ago about our non-classified work.This week things shifted into high gear on the classified side. We found the DoW to be flexible on what we needed, and we want to support them in their very important mission.The reason for rushing is an attempt to de-escalate the situation. I think the current path things are on is dangerous for Anthropic, healthy competition, and the US. We negotiated to make sure similar terms would be offered to all other AI labs.
Sam Altman’s ‘straight’ message for Silicon Valley
But it was Altman’s remarks for the tech giants that addressed the criticism of the government for not doing enough to beat China, painting a picture that OpenAI did the right thing by doing business with the Pentagon – essentially pushing back against what he characterised as double standards within the technology industry. Altman said:I know what it’s like to feel backed into a corner, and I think it’s worth some empathy to the DoW. They are on the a very dedicated group of people with, as I mentioned, an extremely important mission. I cannot imagine doing their work.Our industry tells them “The technology we are building is going to be the high order bit in geopolitical conflict. China is rushing ahead. You are very behind.”And then we say“But we won’t help you, and we think you are kind of evil.”I don’t think I’d react great in that situation.I do not believe unelected leaders of private companies should have as much power as our democratically elected government. But I do think we need to help them.OpenAI also clarified its stance on guardrails on the use of its AI technology“We think our agreement has more guardrails than any previous agreement for classified AI deployments, including Anthropic’s,” OpenAI said.The AI company later clarified that the Department of War enforces three red lines: OpenAI technology cannot be used for mass domestic surveillance, to direct autonomous weapons systems, or for any high-stakes automated decisions.“In our agreement, we protect our red lines through a more expansive, multi-layered approach. We retain full discretion over our safety stack, we deploy via cloud, cleared OpenAI personnel are in the loop, and we have strong contractual protections,” OpenAI said.OpenAI cautioned that any breach of its contract by the US government could trigger a termination, though it added, “We don’t expect that to happen.”
