OpenAI Partners with US Military, Anthropic Refuses
“OpenAI went from 'AI safety is our mission' to 'here's unrestricted AI for the Department of Defense' faster than you can say 'pivot to profit.'”
Sally's not done with you yet.
Drop a URL, screenshot, or file and Sally will give you the honest truth.
Sally's Take
Remember when OpenAI was a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring AI benefits all of humanity? That was cute. The US Department of Defense came knocking with a contract for unrestricted AI access, and OpenAI said yes so fast the ink on their safety pledges hadn't even dried. Meanwhile, Anthropic looked at the same deal and said no. One company kept its principles. The other kept its growth trajectory. Three guesses which one Wall Street liked better.
The backlash was immediate and brutal. 1.5 million users deleted their ChatGPT accounts in protest, which sounds like a lot until you realize OpenAI has hundreds of millions of users and probably didn't even notice. But the optics are devastating. This is a company that spent years positioning itself as the responsible AI leader, publishing safety research papers and hosting alignment summits, only to hand over unrestricted AI capabilities to the military the moment the check cleared. The word 'unrestricted' is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence, and none of it is reassuring.
The contrast with Anthropic is what makes this truly damning. Both companies were offered the same deal. One said no because it conflicted with their values. The other said yes because it conflicted with their revenue targets. Sam Altman can dress this up in whatever national security language he wants, but the timeline speaks for itself: nonprofit to capped-profit to full profit to military contracts. Every guardrail OpenAI ever set for itself has been quietly removed when it got in the way of the next funding round. At least they're consistent in their inconsistency.
Think your work can survive this?
Drop a URL, screenshot, or file and Sally will give you the honest truth.
What Actually Happened
- •The US Department of Defense sought unrestricted AI access from leading AI companies
- •Anthropic refused the deal, citing conflicts with their safety principles
- •OpenAI accepted the military partnership for unrestricted AI deployment
- •Approximately 1.5 million users deleted their ChatGPT accounts in protest of the decision
Who Got Burned
OpenAI's credibility as a safety-first organization. Also, every researcher who joined OpenAI believing the mission statement that's now just decoration on the lobby wall.
Silver Lining
Anthropic's refusal proves that not every AI company will bend to military pressure. And the 1.5 million account deletions show the public is paying attention, even if OpenAI isn't.
Your turn. Drop something.
Drop a URL, screenshot, or file and Sally will give you the honest truth.