Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calls OpenAI’s messaging about the military deal “outright lies,” the report says.

Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei isn’t happy — perhaps predictably — with OpenAI chief Sam Altman. In a memo to staff, reported by The Information, Amodei referred to OpenAI’s dealings with the Department of Defense as “security theater.”

“The main reason [OpenAI] acceptable [the DoD’s deal] “We did not do this because they cared about calming down employees, and we actually cared about preventing abuse,” Amodei wrote.

Last week, Anthropic and the US Department of Defense (DoD) failed to reach an agreement on the military’s request for unfettered access to the AI ​​company’s technology. Anthropic, which already has a $200 million contract with the military, insisted that the Department of Defense confirm that it will not use the company’s AI to enable local mass surveillance or autonomous weapons.

Instead, the Department of Defense — known under the Trump administration as the War Department — struck a deal with OpenAI. Altman said his company’s new defense contract will include protections against the same red lines that Anthropic has emphasized.

In a letter to employees, Amodei refers to OpenAI’s messages as “outright lies,” noting that Altman “falsely presents himself as a peacemaker and dealmaker.”

Perhaps Amodei is not speaking here only from a position of bitterness. Anthropic specifically objected to the Department of Defense’s insistence that the company’s AI be available for “any lawful use.” OpenAI said in a blog post that its contract allows its AI systems to be used “for all legitimate purposes.”

“It was clear in our interaction that the Department of Labor considered mass domestic surveillance illegal and did not plan to use it for that purpose,” the OpenAI blog post said. “We made sure that the fact that it was not covered by legal use was clearly stated in our contract.”

Critics have pointed out that the law is subject to change, and what is considered illegal now may become permissible in the future.

The public seems to be on Anthropy’s side. ChatGPT uninstalls jumped 295% after OpenAI struck its deal with the Department of Defense.

“I think this attempt at spin/gaslighting doesn’t play well with the general public or the media, as people often see OpenAI’s deal with the Department of Labor as vague or suspicious, and see us as heroes (we’re #2 in the App Store now!),” Amodei wrote to his employees. “It works on some idiots on Twitter, which doesn’t matter, but my main concern is how to make sure it doesn’t work on OpenAI employees.”