OpenAI just reached an agreement to deploy its AI models on the Pentagon’s classified networks, securing provisions that ban domestic surveillance and maintain human control over autonomous weapons. The move comes as rival Anthropic faces severe government retaliation over similar demands, showing OpenAI’s pivot to navigate military partnerships on its own technical terms.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth just gave Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei until Friday to lift military safeguards on Claude, threatening to cut ties or invoke the Defense Production Act to force compliance. Anthropic refuses to permit Claude for autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance. Claude is currently the military's only model deployed in classified environments, leaving officials weighing replacements like Google's Gemini or xAI's Grok.
President Biden just signed an executive order to fast-track US AI data center construction by leasing federal lands. The Defense and Energy departments must identify at least three sites each by February 28th to host gigawatt-scale facilities. While developers must fund clean power and source US-made chips, the move sparks heavy backlash over grid strain and climate goals.
