News Summary

OpenAI, led by CEO Sam Altman, has announced revisions to its agreement with the U.S. Defense Department to explicitly prohibit the use of its AI system for mass surveillance of Americans. The move follows public backlash and Altman’s admission that the deal was rushed. The new agreement includes additional protections against domestic surveillance, ensuring compliance with U.S. laws such as the Fourth Amendment. Altman emphasized the importance of clear communication and stated that OpenAI’s tools would not be used by intelligence agencies like the NSA without contract modifications. The revised deal comes as rival AI company Anthropic faced pressure from the Defense Department to remove AI guardrails for lawful purposes, which it refused. Anthropic’s refusal led to its designation as a potential supply chain risk and a surge in popularity of its chatbot, Claude, on the App Store.