OpenAI has reached an agreement with the US Department of Defense to provide AI systems for classified military networks, just hours after Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using technology from rival firm Anthropic. This places OpenAI at the center of a growing dispute between the White House and parts of the tech industry over the military use of artificial intelligence.
Chief executive Sam Altman said the deal includes strict safeguards, prohibiting the use of OpenAI's models for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons capable of killing without human oversight. The agreement follows the collapse of talks between Anthropic and the Pentagon, after the company refused to loosen ethical restrictions around its Claude AI system.
The clash escalated when Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that agencies should "immediately cease" using Anthropic's services. While OpenAI insists its principles remain intact, the episode has exposed deep divisions within the AI sector...