Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, has admitted that his company mishandled the development of its newly announced deal with the US War Department, calling the announcement “opportunistic and messy” after a backlash from users.
In a series of X messages on Monday, Altman said the AI developer moved too quickly in formalizing the deal and failed to adequately explain the complexity of the issues involved. “One thing I think I did wrong: we shouldn’t have rushed on Friday,” he said.
The contract, disclosed on Friday, allows the company’s technology to be used in classified military networks.
According to TechCrunch, within 24 hours, ChatGPT Uninstalls rose 295% in the US. A viral campaign to cancel the chatbot led to a 775% increase in one-star app store reviews.
According to Appfigures, Claude, a competing assistant developed by Anthropic, has topped Apple’s download rankings in the US.
Altman said the company, citing constitutional and national security laws, is revising its agreement to include clear language barring domestic surveillance of U.S. persons. The updated terms prohibit the tracking or monitoring of Americans, including through commercially obtained personal information.
He added that the Department of Defense has confirmed that its services cannot be used by intelligence agencies, such as the NSA, without changing a separate contract.
In a follow-up message, Altman emphasized that the governance of AI should remain under democratic control and that no private company should determine the trajectory of society. He said the company intends to work with governments to protect civil liberties.
The company plans to hold an all-hands meeting to address employee concerns, Altman said, describing the episode as the first major decisions related to direct government integration the organization has faced.
