OpenAI revised Pentagon agreement to explicitly prohibit domestic surveillance of Americans
The revision addresses concerns that original language allowed surveillance loopholes
Rival company Anthropic faces pressure from Pentagon after refusing surveillance cooperation
Experts warn AI could enable unprecedented monitoring without proper safeguards
Full contract remains undisclosed, raising transparency concerns
📖 Full Retelling
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, amid growing concerns and backlash over potential surveillance capabilities. The new agreement specifically 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, addressing concerns that the original language provided loopholes for government surveillance. This revision comes as rival AI company Anthropic faces intense pressure from the Pentagon, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth labeling Anthropic a 'supply chain risk to national security' after the company refused to agree to use its systems for 'any lawful purpose' without privacy safeguards. The move reflects ongoing tensions between AI companies and national security agencies over how advanced technologies should be deployed while protecting civil liberties, with experts warning that without proper guardrails, AI could enable unprecedented monitoring capabilities.
🏷️ Themes
AI Ethics, Government Surveillance, National Security, Corporate Responsibility
# OpenAI
**OpenAI** is an American artificial intelligence (AI) research organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. The organization operates under a unique hybrid structure, comprising the non-profit **OpenAI, Inc.** and its controlled for-profit subsidiary, **OpenAI Global, LLC** (a...
The ethics of artificial intelligence covers a broad range of topics within AI that are considered to have particular ethical stakes. This includes algorithmic biases, fairness, accountability, transparency, privacy, and regulation, particularly where systems influence or automate human decision-mak...
In geometry, a pentagon (from Greek πέντε (pente) 'five' and γωνία (gonia) 'angle') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°.
A pentagon may be simple or self-intersecting.
National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military attack, national security...
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...
