Sam Altman Responds to Pentagon Contract: Hastily Collaboration to De-escalate, AGI Should Be Government-led

March 2 – OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hosted a public AMA on X yesterday to address community concerns over the company’s contract with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The original post drew over 6.6 million views and 7,500+ replies. Altman explained the rushed nature of the deal: OpenAI had only engaged in non-confidential cooperation with the DoD for a few months prior, and had previously turned down classified contracts (which later went to Anthropic). After Anthropic’s ban, the DoD accelerated classified deployment significantly, prompting OpenAI to sign hastily to “de-escalate the situation.” He added negotiations ensured equivalent terms would be available to all other AI labs. When asked why he didn’t speak up for Anthropic, Altman labeled it a “supply chain risk” that’s “very bad for the industry, the country, and Anthropic itself.” He criticized the DoD’s decision, saying, “I hope they will back down.” Altman also noted Anthropic focused more on specific contract prohibitions than citing existing laws in negotiations, and may have sought more operational control than OpenAI. On OpenAI’s red lines: “If we were asked to do something unconstitutional or illegal, we would withdraw. Please visit me in jail.” Regarding foreign surveillance, Altman admitted he “dislikes” the U.S. military monitoring foreign individuals, emphasizing his top AI principle is “democratization” — which surveillance may contradict. However, he added, “I don’t think it should be up to me to decide.” In closing remarks, Altman raised an implicit question behind many inquiries: What if the U.S. government attempts to nationalize OpenAI or other AI projects? He noted he has “long believed that building AGI might be a government project.”