Generative AI shows a lot of promise, especially in the education and medicine sectors. But on the flip side, it also poses a great threat to humanity. Even Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei admitted that the AI research lab doesn’t understand exactly how its own models work.
Last week, Anthropic, which touts itself as the most safety-conscious of the top research labs, refused a Pentagon contract that would have allowed Claude to be used for mass surveillance of American citizens and autonomous weapons systems. However, OpenAI signed the agreement with the Pentagon to provide its artificial intelligence technologies for classified systems.
Here is re-post of an internal post:We have been working with the DoW to make some additions in our agreement to make our principles very clear.1. We are going to amend our deal to add this language, in addition to everything else:”• Consistent with applicable laws,…March 3, 2026
News of OpenAI’s deal with the Pentagon spread like wildfire across social media, igniting a wave of backlash and outrage. In the fast-moving digital era, the company quickly became a target of cancel culture, with hashtags like “Cancel ChatGPT” and “QuitGPT” going viral within hours of the announcement.
While Anthropic’s Claude AI soared to the top spot as the No. 1 free app in the U.S. App Store, ChatGPT saw uninstall rates spike by nearly 300%.
On Monday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged that the company had rushed into its recent deal with the U.S. Department of Defense. He further revealed that OpenAI plans to amend parts of the contract, adding new language to reinforce its principles on sensitive issues such as surveillance.
The executive also clarified that the amendments will categorically indicate that “the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals.”
“There are many things the technology just isn’t ready for, and many areas we don’t yet understand the tradeoffs required for safety,” Altman indicated.
The issues are super complex, and demand clear communication. We were genuinely trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy.
OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman
Coincidentally, the US struck Iran almost immediately after signing the agreement with OpenAI, which allowed the use of AI for military purposes. You can read more about issues around the controversial agreement in Sam Altman’s recent AMA session on X.
Given the exorbitant costs of advancing AI development and the shortage of high-quality training data, releasing these models into the wild seems almost reckless, especially when there’s no “big red button” to halt the technology’s progression.
🗣️ Reader Discussion: Is OpenAI Losing the Plot?
Sam Altman is suddenly apologizing, ChatGPT uninstalls just spiked 295%, and critics are calling the Pentagon AI deal “opportunistic and sloppy.” It’s been a week for OpenAI — and the article lays out exactly how the backlash snowballed, why users are frustrated, and what Altman is trying to walk back.
This is one of those moments where the AI hype cycle slams into the reality of user trust, corporate ambition, and public perception. Whether you think the outrage is justified or overblown, the numbers don’t lie: people are uninstalling, lawmakers are circling, and OpenAI is scrambling to regain control of the narrative.
So let’s talk about it.
Are you still using ChatGPT, or has this latest mess pushed you away too?
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