Over 300 employees at Google and more than 60 at OpenAI have signed an open letter supporting rival AI company Anthropic in its dispute with the US Department of War. The letter, published ahead of a Friday deadline, calls on the leaders of Google and OpenAI to stand with Anthropic and refuse the military's request for unrestricted access to AI technology.
The Pentagon is demanding access to Anthropic's systems, but the company has drawn firm "red lines" against the use of its AI for domestic mass surveillance and fully autonomous weaponry. The open letter's signatories are urging their own executives to publicly uphold these same ethical boundaries.
Industry Solidarity Sought
"They’re trying to divide each company with fear that the other will give in," the letter states. "That strategy only works if none of us know where the others stand." It specifically asks Google and OpenAI leaders to "put aside their differences and stand together" to refuse the Department of War's current demands.
While neither Google nor OpenAI has issued a formal response to the letter, informal statements indicate sympathy for Anthropic's position. In a Friday interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he doesn't "personally think the Pentagon should be threatening DPA against these companies." A company spokesperson confirmed OpenAI shares Anthropic's opposition to autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.
Senior Figures Voice Opposition
Google DeepMind's Chief Scientist, Jeff Dean, expressed personal opposition to government mass surveillance on social media platform X. "Mass surveillance violates the Fourth Amendment and has a chilling effect on freedom of expression," Dean wrote. "Surveillance systems are prone to misuse for political or discriminatory purposes."
According to an Axios report, the US military currently has access to X's Grok, Google's Gemini, and OpenAI's ChatGPT for unclassified tasks. It has been in negotiations with Google and OpenAI to extend this access for use in classified work.
Anthropic's Firm Stance
Despite having an existing partnership with the Pentagon, Anthropic has remained firm. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei that if the company does not concede, the Pentagon will either declare it a "supply chain risk" or invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to force compliance.
In a statement on Thursday, Amodei maintained the company's position. "These latter two threats are inherently contradictory: one labels us a security risk; the other labels Claude as essential to national security," the statement reads. "Regardless, these threats do not change our position: we cannot in good conscience accede to their request."
Context and Precedent
The Defense Production Act is a Cold War-era law that grants the US president broad authority to direct private companies to prioritise orders deemed necessary for national defence. Its potential invocation highlights the escalating tension between the government's security aims and the ethical guardrails being established by leading AI developers.
The employee-led letter represents a significant show of cross-company solidarity within the competitive AI industry, underscoring a shared concern over the potential military applications of advanced artificial intelligence.