Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calls OpenAI’s US agreement ‘safety theatre’: Here’s what he said

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has criticised rival OpenAI’s recent agreement with the US Department of Defense (Pentagon), labeling it “safety theatre” in an internal memo to employees. The controversy emerged from collapsed negotiations between Anthropic and the Pentagon last week on the use of the Claude model for deeper use in weapons systems. Anthropic held a $200 million defense contract but refused to proceed with an expanded deal unless the Department provided explicit written assurances prohibiting the use of its technology for mass domestic surveillance of US citizens or fully autonomous lethal weapons.