this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2026
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OpenAI claims it has accomplished what Anthropic couldn’t: securing a Pentagon contract that won’t cross professed red lines against dragnet domestic spying and the use of artificial intelligence to order lethal military strikes. Just don’t expect any proof.

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, announced the company’s big win with the Defense Department in a post on X on February 27.

“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,” he wrote. The Pentagon “agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement.”

The deal came after the very public implosion of what was to be a similar contract between the U.S. military and Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s chief rivals. Anthropic had said negotiations collapsed because it could not enshrine prohibitions against killer robots and domestic spying in its contract. The company’s insistence on these two points earned it the wrath of the Pentagon and President Donald Trump, who ordered the government to phase out use of Anthropic’s tools within six months.

But if the government booted Anthropic for refusing mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, how could OpenAI take over the contract without having the same problem?

OpenAI has attempted to square this circle through a string of posts to X by company executives and researchers, including Katrina Mulligan, its national security chief, and a claim by Altman that the company negotiated stricter protections around domestic surveillance.

The company and the government, however, are not releasing the only proof that matters: the contract itself.

The Department of Defense did not respond to a request for comment.

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[–] SethTaylor@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

Sam! Quick! Suck my balls! Trust me, they taste like candy!

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 36 points 1 day ago (1 children)

My power bill has literally doubled in one year. It's largely this guy's fault.

Fuck AI.

For less than the cost of several cups of coffee a day, you too are making a difference in a billionaire’s life.

[–] kalkulat@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

"You’re Going to Have to Trust Us"

Is that anything like "Don't Be Evil"? (Google motto, 2004. No definition of evil followed.)

Reagan once said "Trust But Verify". So ... where can we do that at? (and who pays?)

[–] AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works 109 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm no AI, so take this with a grain of salt, but my own facial recognition training tells me that's not the facial expression of somebody who makes a habit of being very open and honest

[–] krimson@lemmy.world 29 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I haven't seen a single picture of this guy where he doesn't look like a completely deranged fuck.

[–] kautau@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago

Yeah there’s a reason Anthropic was founded by basically the entire OpenAI research team in one go, I can’t imagine working under this guy

[–] billwashere@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Um… no I don’t.

[–] Cellari@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago

You’re Going to Have to Trust Us

... yeah that's the problem, I don't :D

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 79 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I trust Sam Altman less than I trust what random internet advertisements say.

[–] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I trust him less than I trust Temu ads.

[–] wltr@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Hey, but the deal is expired in 11 hours, are you gonna buy it for the lowest price in the universe? By the way, only one item (on the planet) left, hurry up plz.

[–] AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works 26 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Maybe he's telling the truth and by "prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems,” he means human responsibility is strictly prohibited.

[–] definitely_AI@feddit.online 6 points 2 days ago

Anyone care to join me for a belt of whiskey?

[–] Nora@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 day ago

the secret 9 out of 10 doctors want you to know is there are untrustworthy Sam Altman in your area!

[–] droans@lemmy.world 42 points 2 days ago (3 children)

You know the one thing I never see mentioned?

These systems were trained on 4Chan, Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter posts and comments. They weren't trained on military communication, guidelines, etc.

They know more about Call of Duty than they know about actual warfare. What the fuck do you think they're gonna recommend?

[–] AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works 18 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

These systems were trained on 4Chan, Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter posts and comments. They weren’t trained on military communication, guidelines, etc.

They know more about Call of Duty than they know about actual warfare. What the fuck do you think they’re gonna recommend?

Honestly, this applies to the entire DOW under Hegseth. The fact that we even have to use a term like "double tap" to describe genocide and war crimes committed by the U.S. and have Marco Rubio tweeting about it with fucking emojis is so fucking disgusting and shameful, but also part of the propaganda they're relying on to sell this back to their base.

It down plays the seriousness of the entire situation, and makes naive people feel much safer than they should. Almost like a stranger in a van offering candy to kids, so that by the time they realize they're in danger it's too late.

Propaganda aside and more to the point of why it's so dangerous, you might find this article posted a while back interesting. You're absolutely right, and the point should really be brought up all the time, but it never is.

We've always know war is good business. If you can create eternal war, you never have to worry about peacetime getting in the way of your profits. So how can you create the world where war never has to end.

Private Tech Companies, the State, and the New Character of War https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/12/ukraine-war-tech-companies

Mass surveillance and social media now generate huge amounts of data during war. At the same time, the widespread availability of the smartphone means civilians carry around advanced sensors that can broadcast data more quickly than the armed forces themselves. This enables civilians to provide intelligence to the armed forces in ways that were not previously possible. Matthew Ford and Andrew Hoskins label this a “new war ecology” that is “weaponizing our attention and making everyone a participant in wars without end . . . [by] collapsing the distinctions between audience and actor, soldier and civilian, media and weapon.” In this ecology, warfare is participatory. Social media platforms such as TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Telegram are no longer merely tools for consuming war reportage; militaries accessing and processing open-source data from these platforms shapes the battlespace in real time by contributing to wider situational awareness.

As a result of their work in Ukraine, a slew of companies like Palantir have drawn media attention.9 While commercial interests have rarely aligned neatly with geopolitics, circumstances are changing; private technology firms increasingly occupy, manage, and in some cases dominate the digital infrastructure upon which militaries now rely. States themselves have fostered this shift through selective deregulation and outsourcing of technology development. These dynamics are visible in the war in Ukraine and in the wider geopolitical contest over the global digital stack. As we argued in “Virtual Sovereignty,” a paper we published in International Affairs, this influence has major geopolitical consequences for how states use power.

What is at stake, beyond the conflict itself, is the nature of state sovereignty. The ability of states to govern, defend, and act independently is increasingly mediated by private technology firms and global finance. This is not entirely new. States have long relied on private contractors, but the kind of dependency has changed. Unlike traditional arms manufacturers, today’s defense-tech firms control the digital platforms, data flows, and algorithmic systems that underpin military decisionmaking. At the same time, civilian platforms like Telegram and TikTok shape the informational terrain of conflict, influencing how wars are perceived and fought.

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[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago

Analysis complete...

Iran strategy: nuke from orbit. Fuck his mom. Teabag the corpse.

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[–] willington@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] 7101334@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

[REDACTED] all billionaires.

[–] MisterD@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago

No more billionaires

[–] definitely_AI@feddit.online 57 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] ozymandias117@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

I hadn't noticed how closely Altman resembles Phelps until the side by side in this thread

[–] justsomeguy@lemmy.world 38 points 2 days ago

Trust me bro, just one more data center, bro, I swear, just one more trillion dollar contract and we'll fix everything, bro please, just a little killing bro, it'll be fine, trust me.

[–] bus_factor@lemmy.world 31 points 2 days ago

Altman is a well known liar. He was even fired by the board of OpenAI for lying to them previously.

[–] RblScmNerfHerder@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Never trust Faro.

[–] dumbass@piefed.social 27 points 2 days ago

Yeah, let's trust the dude who molested his sister.

[–] xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 27 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, should have been "Trust us...or not. Doesn't matter, we'll do what we want regardless."

[–] sqauffle@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 day ago

That is such a stupid looking face lol

[–] artyom@piefed.social 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The Pentagon “agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement.”

Okay so when the Pentagon inevitably violates the agreement, you'll walk away from your likely multi-hundred-million dollar military contract and accept being blackballed the same way Anthropic was?

Yeah, I don't think so.

[–] Casterial@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago

They're bankrupt, so no. This is desperation at it's finest

[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 14 points 2 days ago

There are few people I trust less than Sam Altman.

[–] teft@piefed.social 20 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Altman has lied numerous times in his professional career. If anyone believes him they’ll get exactly what they deserve.

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[–] cley_faye@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

How about no, for a change.

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Out of experience, I trust neither you, your company, nor your product. Especially not with vital functions.

[–] psycho_driver@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Can you give them their next 85 billion infusion of cash? No? Just gonna have to trust them then.

[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 days ago

I trust that they will aid in extrajudicial surveillance and autonomous killings.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

This is our new future, the face of a mass murderer, the face of indifference.

[–] SauceFlexr@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

We need a monthly AI generated report. Instead of Executice Summary at the top, it gives a Casualties and Surveillance Summary.

[–] henfredemars@infosec.pub 10 points 2 days ago

Trust me! Pay no attention to the huge heaps of cash money.

[–] SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org 9 points 2 days ago

HAHAHAHAHAHAfuck you.

[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 days ago

How ‘bout NO

[–] XLE@piefed.social 6 points 2 days ago

The only difference between OpenAI and Anthropic is the amount donated to the Trump campaign. That's it. Ethically they are identical. Their "red lines" are both actually green lights.

[–] bebabalula@feddit.dk 1 points 1 day ago

Good thing they’re so trustworthy then…

[–] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

You're living in a Metal Gear game, but there's no Snake, and there's no Raiden!

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 day ago

I don't know why anyone would question why a psychopath with too much money would lie. I mean, c'mon everyone. What does he have to gain?!

I wish he'd eat a homeless man's ass.

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