Anthropic CEO sends letter to employees, says: Main reason Sam Altman accepted Pentagon deal and we did not is ...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has now sharply criticised OpenAI’s recent contract with the US Department of Defense (DoD). Amodei descried the deal as a ‘safety threat’. According to a report by The Information, in a memo to its employees, Amodei mentioned that the main reason OpenAI accepted Pentagon’s terms while Anthropic did not was because, “they cared about placating employees, and we actually cared about preventing abuses.” For those unaware, last week Anthropic failed to reach on an agreement with the DoD over its request for unrestricted access to the company’s AI technology. However, Anthropic already holds $200 million military contract, it insisted on safeguards preventing use of its AI for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry. The Pentagon declined, later striking a deal with OpenAI instead.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei vs OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

As per the report Amodei also accused OpenAI CEO Sam Altman of ng misinterpreting the terms of the contact, calling his messaging “straight up lies”. He also argued that Altman was falsely presenting himself as a “peacemaker and dealmaker.” OpenAI, in a blog post, said its contract allows AI use for “all lawful purposes” and explicitly excludes domestic surveillance. Critics, however, warn that laws can change, potentially opening the door to future misuse.

Public reaction

The public appears to be siding with Anthropic. Following OpenAI’s announcement, ChatGPT uninstalls surged 295%, while Anthropic’s app climbed to the #2 spot in the App Store. Amodei told staff that while OpenAI’s spin may sway “some Twitter morons,” the broader media and public view OpenAI’s deal as “sketchy or suspicious” and Anthropic as the principled alternative.

Anthropic did not accept Pentagon’s deal

Recently, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an 800-word note declaring that the AI giant will not remove safeguards on its frontier AI model, Claude, even under the pressure from the US Defence Department. “We cannot in good conscience accede to their request,” Amodei wrote. He also warned that the demand made by Pentagon for ‘any lawful use’ would force the company to cross two red lines which are mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.

Amodei noted that Pentagon’s stance was contradictory: one threat labels Anthropic a national security risk, while another insists Claude is essential to national defense. He also stressed on the fact that Anthropic has already offered significant value to US agencies by deploying Claude for intelligence analysis, cyber operations and operational planning. He revealed that the company has also has also cut off revenue streams linked to Chinese military firms and supported export controls to protect democratic advantages.