OpenAI updates Department of War deal after backlash
Source: Mashable Tech
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman admitted that the company rushed its recent agreement with the U.S. Department of War (DOW), calling it “opportunistic and sloppy.” In an internal memo later shared on X, Altman said OpenAI is amending the contract to tighten safeguards, but the response has done little to calm concerns.
“We shouldn’t have rushed to get this out on Friday. The issues are super complex, and demand clear communication. We were genuinely trying to de‑escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy.”
— Sam Altman, X post on Monday [source]
Background
- Timing: OpenAI announced the partnership with the DOW late last week, securing the contract just days after President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using competitor Anthropic [source].
- Anthropic’s stance: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the split occurred because the DOW demanded the removal of safeguards that prevent AI from being used for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. The DOW wanted to use Anthropic’s tools for “any lawful use” [PDF].
Public Reaction
OpenAI’s swift deal sparked immediate backlash from civilian users. Although OpenAI claims its agreement includes more safeguards than Anthropic’s original contract, the terms still appear to permit:
- Mass surveillance (if deemed legal)
- AI‑controlled weapons (under certain conditions)
The contract even outlines specific circumstances under which such uses would be allowed [source].
Damage Control
OpenAI is now working to amend the agreement:
- The company says it has added new language that directly addresses the use of its technology for domestic surveillance.
- “Throughout our discussions, the Department [of War] made clear it shares our commitment to ensuring our tools will not be used for domestic surveillance,” OpenAI wrote in an update to its original announcement [source]).
OpenAI Updates Department of War Deal After Backlash
The new amendments continue to rely on legality as the restraining limit preventing mass surveillance, leaving such use possible should the U.S. government change the law. They also fail to address the issue of autonomous weapons.
Key Passage from the Updated Contract
“Consistent with applicable laws… the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals,” the new sections read.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Department understands this limitation to prohibit deliberate tracking, surveillance, or monitoring of U.S. persons or nationals, including through the procurement or use of commercially acquired personal or identifiable information.”
Public Reaction
Many social‑media users reacted to OpenAI’s contract changes with scepticism, arguing that the specific prohibition of “deliberate” surveillance leaves notable loopholes.
-
Tyson Brody (@tysonbrody) on X:
“Hard not to read as admitting to an AI dragnet. ‘Intentionally’ and ‘deliberate’ – so Americans will be swept up in this data, but the government can claim ‘incidental collection’ and thus legal.”
Link to tweet -
Andy Bloch (@Andy_Bloch) on X:
“‘Not intentionally used’ isn’t a real safeguard in an autonomous AI system. It can wind up doing surveillance because of what it was trained on, what it figures out, or how people use it afterward.”
Link to tweet
Sam Altman’s Stance
During a Q&A held shortly after the DOW deal was announced, Altman indicated that OpenAI would limit use of its tools only along legal lines, not ethical ones. He expressed a reluctance to take an ethical stance, preferring to follow government directions rather than decide for himself.
In his latest memo, Altman reiterated this position, framing it as deference to “democratic processes.”
“It should be the government making the key decisions about society. We want to have a voice and a seat at the table where we can share our expertise and fight for principles of liberty. But we are clear on how the system works (because a lot of people have asked: if I received what I believed was an unconstitutional order, of course I would rather go to jail than follow it).”
Altman did state that DOW intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA) won’t use OpenAI’s technology without an amendment to their contract. Nonetheless, it seems unlikely that OpenAI would deny legal requests for such modifications, regardless of any ethical concerns. (The NSA was previously revealed to have conducted mass surveillance of U.S. citizens in 2013, as disclosed by Edward Snowden.)
- Source: Mashable article on the DOW deal
Customer Backlash
- Numerous OpenAI customers have cancelled their ChatGPT subscriptions in response to the DOW deal.
- Reported uninstalls jumped 295 % after the news broke.
- Source: TechCrunch, March 2 2026
- Anthropic’s AI chatbot Claude has since overtaken ChatGPT as the most‑downloaded free app in the U.S. Apple App Store.
Disclosure
Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging that OpenAI infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.