OpenAI's Ultraman Seeks to Ease Standoff Between Anthropic and the Pentagon — The Wall Street Journal

Investing.com – OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees on Thursday that the company is discussing a potential agreement that could help resolve the standoff between Anthropic and the Pentagon over battlefield AI applications.

According to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, no agreement has been signed yet, and negotiations could still fall apart.

In a memo sent to employees on Thursday, seen by The Wall Street Journal, Altman wrote that OpenAI is exploring an agreement with the Department of Defense to allow its models to be deployed in classified environments while adhering to company principles. The proposed contract would cover any use except for illegal purposes or those unsuitable for cloud deployment, such as domestic surveillance and autonomous offensive weapons.

Altman expressed his hope to help facilitate a resolution between the two sides.

OpenAI seeks to maintain these safeguards through technological rather than contractual means, such as exploring an agreement that permits its technology to be used only from the cloud rather than at the edge. This would prohibit its use in autonomous weapons without human involvement.

Altman wrote that OpenAI will also establish technical safeguards and deploy personnel in cooperation with the government to ensure normal operations. The company will offer similar services to other allied nations. If successful, this approach could provide a viable path for other AI labs.

Earlier Thursday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei announced that the company had rejected the Department of Defense’s request to make its technology available for all legal uses. Anthropic insists it can prohibit its technology from being used for large-scale domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons.

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