OpenAI's Altman backs Anthropic in Pentagon AI contract standoff
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is standing up for Anthropic, a competing AI company, as it faces Pentagon demands to weaken its AI safety rules around surveillance and autonomous weapons.
With a key deadline coming up, Altman told CNBC, "I don't personally think the Pentagon should be threatening DPA against these companies."
Altman's support for Anthropic highlights industry consensus
Altman called out Anthropic's commitment to safety and said, "For all the differences I have with Anthropic, I mostly trust them as a company, and I think they really do care about safety, and I've been happy that they've been supporting our warfighters," (said to CNBC).
His support highlights how even competitors agree that government pressure shouldn't override AI safety—especially with Anthropic's $200 million contract on the line.
Bipartisan concern over Pentagon's AI approach
Lawmakers from both parties and a former Defense Department AI leader are also worried about the Pentagon's approach. They say it could hurt important safety standards in AI.
Anthropic says it will not accede to weakening those safeguards and has criticized the proposed contract language.
Significance of Altman's backing for competitor
Altman leads OpenAI (think: ChatGPT). Dario Amodei left OpenAI to launch Anthropic with a focus on safer AI.
So Altman publicly backing his old colleague makes this moment pretty significant for the whole industry.