At the Pentagon, OpenAI is In and Anthropic Is Out
3/1/202633 min
On Friday, President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s A.I. systems and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated the company a “supply chain risk.” Then, just a few hours later, the OpenAI chief executive, Sam Altman, announced that his company reached an agreement with the Pentagon. The deal ensures its technology won’t be used for the same two safety concerns Anthropic raised: domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. So what is going on? Is this a political vendetta between the Pentagon and Anthropic? Or are there substantive differences between the agreement Anthropic was offered and the one OpenAI signed? We cut through the confusion.
Additional Reading:
- OpenAI Reaches A.I. Agreement With Defense Dept. After Anthropic Clash
- Trump Orders Government to Stop Using Anthropic After Pentagon Standoff
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Kevin Roose· Host0:31
[upbeat music] Casey, where are you? That beautiful background does not look like your house.
Casey Newton· Host0:54
I'm in a ski chalet- [laughs] ... um, in keeping with the hard for tradition of recording bonus episodes in as strange place as possible. [laughs] But here's the good news, Kev, because while I was invited on a ski trip, I've never in my life had any intention to ski. [laughs] And so my plans for this morning were either to talk about AI with my fiance or talk about AI with you. [laughs] And the- we flipped the coin, and it's you. How are you doing this morning?
Kevin Roose· Host1:15
Wow, I feel so honored. Well, we have a lot to talk about today, because it has been a very crazy 48-hour period in the AI industry, and this dispute between