Comes after US establishment declared war on AI giant Anthropic, declaring it supply chain risk
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (photo:IANS)
OpenAI announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement with the United States Department of War to deploy its artificial intelligence models within the department’s classified network, marking a significant development in the US government’s use of advanced AI systems.
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sam Altman posted on X that the agreement includes clauses that enforce prohibitions on mass surveillance. The issue of surveillance was the breaking point that forced the US Department of War to cancel its agreement with Anthropic.
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“Tonight, we reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy our models in their classified network. In all of our interactions, the DoW displayed a deep respect for safety and a desire to partner to achieve the best possible outcome. AI safety and the wide distribution of benefits are the core of our mission. Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems.” Altman said in his post. He added that the Department of War has agreed to reflect these principles in law, policy, and in the contract itself.
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OpenAI CEO said the Company would implement technical safeguards to ensure its models operate within agreed-upon parameters and would deploy the systems only on cloud networks. The company also plans to assign field deployment engineers to support and monitor the models’ use.
Altman said OpenAI has urged the Department to offer similar terms to other AI providers, and expressed hope to see things de-escalate away from legal and governmental actions and towards reasonable agreements.
Tonight, we reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy our models in their classified network.
In all of our interactions, the DoW displayed a deep respect for safety and a desire to partner to achieve the best possible outcome.
AI safety and wide distribution of…
— Sam Altman (@sama) February 28, 2026
The announcement comes amid a public dispute between the US federal agencies and Anthropic. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump ordered the halt the use of Anthropic’s technology during a six-month phase-out period, accusing the company of attempting to interfere with military operations.
Donald Trump also threatened further action if it does not cooperate during a six-month phase-out period.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth sharply criticized Anthropic and its CEO, Dario Amodei, alleging the firm had sought to impose restrictions on how its AI systems could be used by the US military. Hegseth said the department requires full access to AI tools for “every lawful purpose” in defence operations and announced plans to designate Anthropic as a “Supply-Chain Risk to National Security.” Under the directive, contractors and suppliers working with the military would be barred from engaging in commercial activity with the company.
“This week, Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon. Our position has never wavered and will never waver: the Department of War must have full, unrestricted access to Anthropic’s models for every LAWFUL purpose in defense of the Republic. Instead, Anthropic AI and its CEO Dario Amodei have chosen duplicity. Cloaked in the sanctimonious rhetoric of “effective altruism,” they have attempted to strong-arm the United States military into submission – a cowardly act of corporate virtue-signaling that places Silicon Valley ideology above American lives,” Hegseth posted on X.
The above DOW’s remarks came after Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, in a statement on Thursday, said that the firm would not support certain uses of AI, including mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, citing concerns about democratic values and the current reliability of frontier AI systems.
In a statement, Amodei said the company had faced pressure to agree to “any lawful use” of its technology and remove specific safeguards, but declined to do so.
Anthropic argued that using its AI model, Claude, for mass surveillance of Americans would violate fundamental rights. The company refused to allow its technology to be used for such purposes, citing concerns about privacy and democratic values.
The firm drew a firm line against the deployment of its AI in fully autonomous weapons systems. Amodei emphasized that AI should not make lethal decisions without human oversight.
The US Department of War requested that Anthropic agree to “any lawful use” of its AI. Anthropic resisted, arguing that some lawful uses could still be ethically unacceptable, highlighting a tension between legality and ethical responsibility.
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