A controversy erupted after OpenAI stepped in following the collapse of a potential agreement between Anthropic and the United States Department of Defense.
The original arrangement reportedly fell apart after Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, pushed for strict limitations on how artificial intelligence could be used by the military. He insisted that the technology should not be deployed in autonomous weapons systems or large-scale domestic surveillance.
After the deal broke down, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said his company attempted to present a compromise. However, the move quickly sparked criticism from users and observers.
Within 24 hours of the news spreading online, uninstallations of ChatGPT reportedly surged by about 295 percent, while downloads of Anthropic’s AI assistant, Claude (AI assistant), climbed rapidly and topped app store charts.
Altman later acknowledged that the situation was not handled well. He explained that the company’s intention was to ease tensions and avoid a worse outcome, but admitted that the approach may have appeared opportunistic and poorly managed to the public.
