San Francisco, March 3: OpenAI Revises Pentagon Deal following backlash over concerns that the agreement could enable mass surveillance of Americans. The decision comes just days after concerns were raised about how federal agencies might use the company’s AI tools.
Reports first published by Axios said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed to add clear safeguards to the agreement. The updated contract now states that the technology cannot be intentionally used for domestic surveillance. It also says intelligence agencies cannot use the tools without further approval. The protections include limits on using commercially purchased data to monitor Americans.
On Monday, Altman admitted he made a mistake in how the deal was handled. Writing on X, he said he “shouldn’t have rushed” the agreement and described the rollout as “sloppy.” He said the company was trying to avoid a worse situation but acknowledged that the timing created confusion.
The revision comes at a time of growing tension between AI companies and the federal government over military use of artificial intelligence. Rival firm Anthropic recently had its own dispute with the Pentagon after refusing to remove safeguards that blocked mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons use. Following that disagreement, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s products.
Meanwhile, a protest group called “Quit GPT” plans to demonstrate outside OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters, reflecting wider public concern about AI’s role in defense and national security.
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