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New Delhi: It feels like a tense script from a tech thriller movie lately. Just a few days ago, the US Department of War labelled one of the top US AI companies, Anthropic, a supply chain risk (SCR). This happened because Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refused to let the military use their AI without strict limits. Literally hours after that massive bombshell, OpenAI swooped in and announced a deal to put their own AI models into the Pentagon’s classified networks.

The internet obviously went crazy over this timing. People were asking how OpenAI could just jump into bed with the military right after their biggest rival got slapped with a national security threat label. Sam Altman decided to face the music and hosted an AMA on X to answer questions about their work with the Department of War. He shared his actual thoughts on the past few days. Some of his answers were honestly pretty surprising.

I’d like to answer questions about our work with the DoW and our thinking over the past few days. Please AMA.

— Sam Altman (@sama) March 1, 2026

Why OpenAI rushed into the classified military deal

Honestly, the optics looked really bad. OpenAI signing a deal right after Anthropic was punished felt like tricky political chess. But Altman explained that they were actually trying to calm things down. He stated, “The main reason for the rush was an attempt to de-escalate matters at a time when it felt like things could get extremely hot.” He believes that if this leads to a better relationship between the industry and the government, they will look like geniuses.

A friend of mine who works in tech policy asked me if Sam was just trying to steal Anthropic’s business. But Sam Altman made it clear he is not happy about the government blacklisting Anthropic. He called the situation an extremely scary precedent.

Sam defends Anthropic

Even though they are fierce competitors, Altman defended Anthropic. He noted, “Enforcing the SCR designation on Anthropic would be very bad for our industry and our country, and obviously their company.” He also added a message for his critics online. He said, “To say it very clearly: I think this is a very bad decision from the DoW and I hope they reverse it. If we take heat for strongly criticizing it, so be it.”

A lot of folks are worried about what happens if the government demands something illegal. Sam gave a very direct answer to what would cause OpenAI to walk away. “If we were asked to do something unconstitutional or illegal, we will walk away. Please come visit me in jail if necessary.”

On surveillance and weapons

A lot of folks are worried about what happens if the government uses AI to spy on citizens or run weapons without human control. OpenAI has some clear guidelines for this new partnership. They made sure their core safety principles were put into the agreement. These include:

• Prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance.
• Human responsibility for the use of force including for autonomous weapon systems.

When someone asked what OpenAI would do if the government asked for domestic mass surveillance, Sam gave a very direct answer. He said, “We would not do that, because it violates the Constitution. Also, I cannot overstate how much the DoW has been extremely aligned on this point.” He even added, “I would also be terrified of a world where our government decided mass domestic surveillance was ok.” He was firm that human responsibility must remain for any autonomous weapon systems.

However, things get a bit muddy when it comes to spying outside the US. This is something telecom companies deal with a lot globally. When pressed on the hardest principle to reconcile during the internal debates, Altman pointed to the surveillance of foreign population. He confessed, “Thinking through non-domestic surveillance. I have accepted that the US military is going to do some amount of surveillance on foreigners, and I know foreign governments try to do it to us, but I still don’t like it.”

On Elected leaders vs Tech CEOs

One thing I found really interesting is how Altman views his own power. Most tech billionaires want to control everything. Sam thinks differently. He confessed, “I do not believe unelected leaders of private companies should have as much power as our democratically elected government.” He admitted he does not want to be the one deciding what to do if a nuclear weapon is flying towards the US. He prefers to trust the democratic system.