OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network • Hacker News Board

Re: OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network

#91

Post by willio58 » Sat, Feb 28, 2026, 4:13 AM UTC

corford wrote: post #43

If you're unhappy with this, an immediate way to signal it is with your wallet. In my case I've just uninstalled chatgpt from my phone, cancelled my subscription and will up my spend with anthropic.

Thanks for the reminder. Doing the same now.

The little respect I had left for Sam is now wiped. Makes me sick.

Growing up I always thought AI would be this beautiful tool, this thing that opens the gates to a new society where work becomes optional in a way. But I failed to think about human greed.

I remember following OpenAI way back when it was a non profit explaining how AI uncontrolled could be highly detrimental. Now Sam has not only taken that non profit and made it for-profit. It seems he’s making the most evil decisions he can for a buck.

Cancel your subscription, tell your friends to. And vote to heavily tax these companies and their leaders.

Re: OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network

#92

Post by Analemma_ » Sat, Feb 28, 2026, 4:13 AM UTC

nearlyepic wrote: post #70

corford wrote: post #43

If you're unhappy with this, an immediate way to signal it is with your wallet. In my case I've just uninstalled chatgpt from my phone, cancelled my subscription and will up my spend with anthropic.

Do you honestly believe that cancelling a subscription makes a bit of difference to a company that is either committing accounting fraud on a monumental scale or shoveling venture capital money into a furnace? not to mention the whole collaborating with a fascist government thing. taking real action is your choice, but stop pretending this kind of thing matters one iota edit: to be clear, i'm not advocating for nihil…

I think you have too much pessimism. It's not guaranteed to work, but as I mentioned in another thread, since around December, Claude (and Gemini to a lesser extent) has had all the buzz in tech circles, while Chat-GPT has seemed like the also-ran. And that matters: decision-makers in companies notice these things and momentum becomes self-reinforcing (you use Claude Code because everyone else uses Claude Code). If a large enough group of developers visibly defects from OpenAI because of this, it definitely could have consequences. It's not a sure thing, but it's far from hopeless.

I was not a Chat-GPT user even before this, but I'm bumping my Claude Code subscription to the next tier up. Fuck OpenAI.

Re: OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network

#93

Post by coliveira » Sat, Feb 28, 2026, 4:13 AM UTC

drivebyhooting wrote: post #66

jeffbee wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's this simple: Trump is a criminal. Larry Ellison is his pal. Sam Altman has a huge deal for cloud services from Oracle. Trump is using the DoD budget to backstop Ellison's business.

Interesting thesis. But regardless of the moral implications, will this improve America’s position on the global stage or further undermine it?

Only if you think that crime will somehow improve America. My opinion is that this is leading to its collapse, no matter how "powerful" they look.

Re: OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network

#94

Post by slopinthebag » Sat, Feb 28, 2026, 4:14 AM UTC

corford wrote: post #43

If you're unhappy with this, an immediate way to signal it is with your wallet. In my case I've just uninstalled chatgpt from my phone, cancelled my subscription and will up my spend with anthropic.

Personally I'm happy about this. OpenAI are being fair about letting the gov use their models to spy on everybody, doesn't seem right that Americans get a pass.

Re: OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network

#95

Post by Jensson » Sat, Feb 28, 2026, 4:14 AM UTC

BoiledCabbage wrote: post #8

jordanscales wrote: post #5

This is awkward? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47188473

So they agreed to the exact same clauses that Anthropic put forward but with OpenAI instead? So it wasn't about those principles making them a supply chain risk? They're just trying to punish Anthropic for being the first ones to stand firm on those principles?

Anthropic would probably not renegotiate in a year about the principles, while Sam Altman is known to be morally flexible so OpenAI will almost surely allow the military to do what they want in the future. Sam Altman might even have said behind closed doors that these restrictions will be removed once the drama has died down.

Re: OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network

#96

Post by drivebyhooting » Sat, Feb 28, 2026, 4:14 AM UTC

MaxfordAndSons wrote: post #89

drivebyhooting wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting thesis. But regardless of the moral implications, will this improve America’s position on the global stage or further undermine it?

Attempting to kneecap the breakout front runner of the major American AI companies to ensure the shittier, politically compliant one wins in the short term? Gee I wonder.

Anthropic is great but not the undisputed front runner.

I can also interpret this as Sam and the administration supporting accelerationism while Dario is more measured and wishes to slow things down.

Re: OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network

#97

Post by AbstractH24 » Sat, Feb 28, 2026, 4:14 AM UTC

It’s amazing how quickly the players keep shifting here.

Yesterday and the day before sentiment seemed to be focused on “Anthropic selling out”, then that shifted to “Anthropic holds true to its principles in a David vs Goliath” and “the industry will rally around one another for the greater good.” But suddenly we’re seeing a new narrative of “Evil OpenAI swoops in to make a deal with the devil.”

Reminds of that weekend where Sam Altman lost control of OpenAI.

Re: OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network

#98

Post by coliveira » Sat, Feb 28, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC

nearlyepic wrote: post #70

corford wrote: post #43

If you're unhappy with this, an immediate way to signal it is with your wallet. In my case I've just uninstalled chatgpt from my phone, cancelled my subscription and will up my spend with anthropic.

Do you honestly believe that cancelling a subscription makes a bit of difference to a company that is either committing accounting fraud on a monumental scale or shoveling venture capital money into a furnace? not to mention the whole collaborating with a fascist government thing. taking real action is your choice, but stop pretending this kind of thing matters one iota edit: to be clear, i'm not advocating for nihil…

At least I'm not getting my hands dirty.

Re: OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network

#99

Post by AbstractH24 » Sat, Feb 28, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC

tempaccount420 wrote: post #19

Imnimo wrote: post #16

I don't see how OpenAI employees who have signed the We Will Not Be Divided letter can continue their employment there in light of this. Surely if OpenAI had insisted upon the same things that Anthropic had, the government would not have signed this agreement. The only plausible explanation is that there is an understanding that OpenAI will not, in practice, enforce the red lines.

Didn't the safety-conscious employees already leave when OpenAI fired Sam Altman and then re-hired him? In my mind the only people left are those who are there for the stocks.

In all seriousness, what’s the average tenure at OpenAI and how much of the company in March 2026 was even around for that?

Re: OpenAI agrees with Dept. of War to deploy models in their classified network

#100

Post by karmasimida » Sat, Feb 28, 2026, 4:17 AM UTC

AbstractH24 wrote: post #97

It’s amazing how quickly the players keep shifting here. Yesterday and the day before sentiment seemed to be focused on “Anthropic selling out”, then that shifted to “Anthropic holds true to its principles in a David vs Goliath” and “the industry will rally around one another for the greater good.” But suddenly we’re seeing a new narrative of “Evil OpenAI swoops in to make a deal with the devil.” Reminds of that week…

Sam is a player and honestly the more interesting one in the whole thing.

Mad respect to Sam, now I believe OpenAI have better chance to win in the race