OpenAI is adding surveillance safeguards to its Pentagon deal to prevent mass surveillance of Americans
Legal experts and staff raised concerns about 'incidental' surveillance not prohibited in original contract
Anthropic refused similar contract terms, accusing OpenAI of deceptive practices
Current surveillance laws are seen as insufficient and lagging behind AI technology
📖 Full Retelling
OpenAI is negotiating additional safeguards with the US Department of Defense in San Francisco and Washington on March 5-6, 2026, to prevent mass surveillance of American citizens using its AI technology, following the controversial Pentagon deal hastily announced on Friday that raised concerns among staff and legal experts about potential abuse. The $730 billion AI start-up, led by CEO Sam Altman, has already modified contractual language prohibiting 'intentional,' 'deliberate,' or 'targeted' surveillance and is working to strengthen these protections during the three-month implementation period. Legal experts and internal staff have expressed worries that the government might still conduct 'incidental' or 'unintentional' surveillance using advanced AI tools, prompting OpenAI to develop technical safeguards that would allow models to refuse potentially harmful instructions. The move comes after rival Anthropic refused to accept similar contract terms, with CEO Dario Amodei accusing OpenAI of 'gaslighting' and 'mendacious' messaging in a scathing memo to staff. OpenAI has since updated its contract to explicitly prohibit 'deliberate tracking, surveillance or monitoring of US persons or nationals,' while excluding intelligence services like the NSA from the deal, though legal experts note that current surveillance laws remain insufficient and lag behind technological advancements.
🏷️ Themes
AI surveillance, National security, Corporate ethics, Government policy
# 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...
# Anthropic PBC
**Anthropic PBC** is an American artificial intelligence (AI) safety and research company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Established as a public-benefit corporation, the organization focuses on the development of frontier artificial intelligence systems with a primary e...
Dario Amodei (born 1983) is an American artificial intelligence researcher and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Anthropic, the company behind the large language model series Claude. He was previously the vice president of research at OpenAI.
In his capacity as Anthropic's CEO, he often ...
OpenAI pushes to add surveillance safeguards following Pentagon deal on x (opens in a new window) OpenAI pushes to add surveillance safeguards following Pentagon deal on facebook (opens in a new window) OpenAI pushes to add surveillance safeguards following Pentagon deal on linkedin (opens in a new window) OpenAI pushes to add surveillance safeguards following Pentagon deal on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save OpenAI pushes to add surveillance safeguards following Pentagon deal on x (opens in a new window) OpenAI pushes to add surveillance safeguards following Pentagon deal on facebook (opens in a new window) OpenAI pushes to add surveillance safeguards following Pentagon deal on linkedin (opens in a new window) OpenAI pushes to add surveillance safeguards following Pentagon deal on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Cristina Criddle and George Hammond in San Francisco and Joe Miller in Washington Published March 5 2026 Jump to comments section Print this page Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. OpenAI is negotiating additional safeguards with the US defence department intended to prevent mass surveillance of American citizens using its AI, as it implements the deal hastily announced on Friday. Sam Altman’s AI start-up has already changed the contractual wording around surveillance and is looking to add protections during the three-month implementation period for the agreement. Legal experts and staff have scrutinised language in the contract that prohibits “intentional”, “deliberate” or “targeted” surveillance, people familiar with the conversations said. They have raised concerns that the government could surveil Americans “incidentally” or “unintentionally” using modern AI tools , the people added. “What is yet to be worked out is the implementation of [these contracts],” said a person close to OpenAI . The next phase will cover questions “beyond the language of the co...
