OpenAI Inks Pentagon Deal with Strong Safeguards

OpenAI has finalized an agreement with the U.S. Department of War to deploy its AI systems in classified environments, with explicit bans on domestic surveillance, autonomous weapons control, and high-stakes automated decisions like social credit systems. The deal adds clear language prohibiting the use of commercially acquired personal data for tracking U.S. persons, and the NSA is barred from accessing these tools without a new agreement. OpenAI retains control over its safety stack, deploys via cloud with cleared personnel oversight, and enforces contractual protections. A working group with other AI labs and cloud providers will tackle emerging privacy and security challenges. Why it matters: This sets a precedent for how frontier AI companies can engage with military agencies without sacrificing core ethical commitments, potentially shaping national security AI policy for years to come.