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Why OpenAI rushed to ink military deal amid ethics backlash
02 Mar 2026

OpenAI has clarified the reason behind its hasty deal with the US Department of Defense (DoD) for artificial intelligence (AI) use.

The clarification comes after the company faced criticism online, following its decision to replace Anthropic.

The move came just hours after President Donald Trump scrapped Anthropic's contracts with the government.

Deal was 'rushed,' admits Altman
Strategic move

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted that the deal was "rushed" and its optics aren't great for the company.

However, he defended the move by saying it was meant to de-escalate tensions between the US military and AI industry.

He said if this leads to a de-escalation, they would be seen as geniuses. But if things go wrong, they could be criticized for being hasty and careless.

OpenAI outlines ethical use of technology
Policy details

OpenAI has made its position clear in a blog post, reiterating Anthropic's red lines against using AI for mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons systems.

The company has also added a new clause that prohibits its models from being used "for high-stakes automated decisions (e.g., systems such as 'social credit')."

This is part of OpenAI's commitment to ensuring ethical use of its technology.

AI models to be deployed via cloud
Deployment strategy

OpenAI has said its AI models will be deployed via the cloud, a move that would prevent their use for autonomous weapons.

Katrina Mulligan, OpenAI's head of national security partnerships, explained this on LinkedIn.

She said by limiting deployment to cloud API, they can ensure their models can't be integrated directly into weapons systems or other operational hardware.

Will OpenAI follow unconstitutional orders?
Contractual safeguards

The contract with the DoD allows for AI use "for all lawful purposes."

When asked about the potential use of its models for unconstitutional orders, Altman said if they are confident it's unconstitutional, they wouldn't follow it.

He stressed that the constitution is more important than any job or staying out of jail.