OpenAI alters deal with Pentagon as critics sound alarm over surveillance

OpenAI alters deal with Pentagon as critics sound alarm over surveillance CEO Sam Altman attempted to placate worries over domestic surveillance as opposition builds over rival Anthropic’s labelling as national security threat Sam Altman; Dario Amodei Getty Images Share Add NBC News to Google March 3, 2026, 4:00 PM EST By Jared Perlo , Kevin Collier and David Ingram Listen to this article with a free account 00:00 00:00 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unveiled a reworked agreement with the Pentagon Monday night governing the Defense Department’s use of its AI services, which he says provides stronger guarantees that the military won’t use OpenAI’s systems for domestic surveillance. The new agreement states that “the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals,” according to a post on OpenAI’s website . OpenAI had faced some backlash as news of an initial agreement between the leading AI company and the Pentagon emerged on Friday . Many observers claimed the original language shared on OpenAI’s website provided ample loopholes for the government to surveil Americans. The move comes after weeks of intense debates between rival AI company Anthropic and the Pentagon over how the military can use advanced AI systems. While the Defense Department had wanted Anthropic to agree to use its systems for “any lawful purpose,” Anthropic maintained its systems could not be used for domestic surveillance or to control deadly autonomous weapons. Until last week , Anthropic was the only major AI company whose services were actively used on classified networks . Researchers argue that without guardrails, AI could allow authorities to monitor individuals with unprecedented speed and accuracy, combing through mountains of digital data to track peoples’ movement and behavior. “It is critical to protect the civil liberties of Americans,” Altman wrote in a post on X Monday night announcing the new contract language that he said better limits dom...