3 min readNew DelhiMar 5, 2026 02:17 PM ISTAnthropic CEO Dario Amodei criticised OpenAI’s Pentagon AI deal, calling the company’s messaging “straight up lies.” (Image Source: Gemini/AI Generated)Soon after the US Department of War (formerly the Department of Defence) struck a deal with OpenAI, millions of people began removing ChatGPT from their devices, with uninstall rates surging by 295%.Responding to the mounting backlash of AI’s military use, company CEO Sam Altman said that they shouldn’t have rushed and will be revisiting their agreement to add clearer language to know how the technology will and will not be used.In a post on X, Altman said that the partnership is now being revised to include language that explicitly states OpenAI’s AI models won’t be used for domestic surveillance. The company also said that it added another clause that prevents the government from using commercial bulk data on Americans for surveillance.However, Altman’s rival and Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei reportedly shared a memo with his staff that referred to OpenAI’s deal with the Pentagon as “safety theater.”Also Read | OpenAI updates ChatGPT to cut ‘cringe’ replies and improve answer qualityAccording to the memo seen by The Information, the Anthropic CEO said that the main reason why OpenAI accepted the deal is that “they cared about placating employees, and we actually cared about preventing abuses.”Amodei also claimed that OpenAI’s messaging was “straight up lies” and that Altman is lying by “presenting himself as a peacemaker and dealmaker.”“I think this attempted spin/gaslighting is not working very well on the general public or the media, where people mostly see OpenAI’s deal with the DoW as sketchy or suspicious, and see us as the heroes (we’re #2 in the App Store now!)”, Amodei said in the memoStory continues below this adWhile Amodei may sound bitter because Anthropic failed to secure a deal with the US Department of War, his company had raised questions about the Department of War’s clause stating that AI could be used for “any lawful use.” In its deal with OpenAI, the Pentagon contract says that AI systems will be used for “all lawful purposes”, which may or may not include surveillance.OpenAI has clarified that, under its deal with the US government, the department specifically deemed mass domestic surveillance illegal, but many say the law in question is subject to change, and what may be illegal now could likely be allowed in the future.After talks broke down last week, Anthropic is once again reportedly in contact with the US Department of War over the use of its AI tools by the military. © IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd