Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has sharply criticized OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in an internal memo, describing the rival company’s statements about its military contract as “straight up lies.”
In a staff memo reported by the Information, Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei expressed strong disapproval of OpenAI’s recent agreement with the Department of War, characterizing the company’s public messaging as misleading and its approach to safety as superficial performance rather than genuine commitment.
“The main reason [OpenAI] accepted [the DoW’s deal] and we did not is that they cared about placating employees, and we actually cared about preventing abuses,” Amodei wrote in the memo to employees.
The controversy stems from failed negotiations between Anthropic and the U.S. Department of War last week. Despite having an existing $200 million contract with the military, Anthropic refused to proceed with expanded cooperation unless the DoW explicitly agreed not to use the company’s artificial intelligence technology for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry.
When those negotiations collapsed, the Department of War turned to OpenAI and successfully reached an agreement. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman subsequently announced that the new contract included safeguards against the same concerns Anthropic had raised.
However, Amodei challenged this characterization in his staff communication, referring to OpenAI’s messaging as “straight up lies” and accusing Altman of falsely “presenting himself as a peacemaker and dealmaker.”
The dispute centers on crucial differences in contractual language. Anthropic had specifically objected to the DoW’s insistence that the company’s AI be available for “any lawful use.” OpenAI’s blog post announcing its agreement stated that the contract permits use of its AI systems for “all lawful purposes.”
“It was clear in our interaction that the DoW considers mass domestic surveillance illegal and was not planning to use it for this purpose,” OpenAI’s blog post stated. “We ensured that the fact that it is not covered under lawful use was made explicit in our contract.”
Critics have highlighted a significant vulnerability in this approach, noting that legal frameworks can change over time. Activities currently classified as illegal could potentially become permissible under future legislation or policy changes, potentially rendering current contractual protections meaningless.
Public reaction appears to favor Anthropic’s position. Following OpenAI’s announcement of its Department of War partnership, ChatGPT uninstalls surged by 295 percent, indicating user dissatisfaction with the decision.
Amodei acknowledged this public sentiment in his memo to staff, suggesting that Anthropic’s stance has resonated with consumers and media observers while OpenAI’s justifications have been met with skepticism.
“I think this attempted spin/gaslighting is not working very well on the general public or the media, where people mostly see OpenAI’s deal with the DoW as sketchy or suspicious, and see us as the heroes (we’re #2 in the App Store now!),” Amodei wrote to his staff. “It is working on some Twitter morons, which doesn’t matter, but my main worry is how to make sure it doesn’t work on OpenAI employees.”
As AI companies, led and built by leftists with a history of attacking Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, continue to fight amongst each other to win the AI wars, the fallout could impact everything from America’s defense posture and elections to the economy and the mental health of our children and grandchildren. Breitbart News social media director Wynton Hall has written his forthcoming book, book Code Red: The Left, the Right, China, and the Race to Control AI, to serve as the definitive guide on how the MAGA movement can create positions on AI that benefit humanity without handing control of our nation to the leftists of Silicon Valley or allowing the Chinese to take over the world.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, praised Code Red as a “must-read.” She added: “Few understand our conservative fight against Big Tech as Hall does,” making him “uniquely qualified to examine how we can best utilize AI’s enormous potential, while ensuring it does not exploit kids, creators, and conservatives.” Award-winning investigative journalist and Public founder Michael Shellenberger calls Code Red “illuminating,” ”alarming,” and describes the book as “an essential conversation-starter for those hoping to subvert Big Tech’s autocratic plans before it’s too late.”
Read more at the Information here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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