OpenAI's Sam Altman admits ‘rushed’ deal with Defense Department after backlash

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Monday that the company "shouldn't have rushed" its recent deal with the U.S. Department of Defense and would make some revisions to the agreement.It came days after the ChatGPT maker announced it had struck a new deal with the Defense Department on Friday, just hours after the White House directed federal agencies to stop using rival AI company Anthropic's tools, and hours before Washington would carry out strikes on Iran. In a post on X, Altman said OpenAI would amend the contract to include some new language, including that "the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals." He added that the Defense Department had affirmed that OpenAI's tools would not be used by intelligence agencies such as the NSA. "There are many things the technology just isn't ready for, and many areas we don't yet understand the tradeoffs required for safety," Altman said, adding that the company would work with the Pentagon on technical safeguards.The CEO also admitted that he had made a mistake and "shouldn't have rushed" to get its deal out on Friday. "We were genuinely trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy," he said. The acknowledgment comes after a public feud between Anthropic and Washington over safeguards for its Claude AI systems.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said the company would be designated a supply-chain threat. Anthropic had sought guarantees that its tools would not be used for purposes such as domestic surveillance in the U.S., or to operate and develop autonomous weapons without human control. The dispute began after it was revealed that Anthropic's Claude had been used by the U.S. military in its raid to capture Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January, though the company did not publicly object to that use case.OpenAI's deal with the Pentagon came right after talks between Anthropic and the Defense Department broke down, prompting public backlash online, with many users reportedly ditching ChatGPT for Claude on app stores.In his post, Altman further addressed the controversy, saying: "In my conversations over the weekend, I reiterated that Anthropic should not be designated as a [supply chain risk], and that we hope the [Department of Defense] offers them the same terms we've agreed to."Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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