Current and former employees of OpenAI and Google have signed a joint petition opposing the use of their companies' artificial intelligence for military purposes without strict safeguards. The petition, titled "We Will Not Be Divided," specifically targets potential applications in mass surveillance and weapons systems that can kill without human oversight.
As of Friday, more than 220 verified employees had signed the document—176 from Google and 47 from OpenAI. The petition emerges amid reports that the US Department of War is pressuring AI firms, including Anthropic, to provide their models for military use, threatening to invoke the Defense Production Act if they refuse.
Pressure from the Pentagon
The petition states that the Department of War is attempting to negotiate similar access with Google and OpenAI after Anthropic refused to tailor its AI model for military needs. This follows an Axios report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth set a deadline for Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to grant sweeping military access, warning of consequences for non-compliance.
"The only reason we're still talking to these people is we need them and we need them now," a Defense official told Axios. During a January visit to SpaceX, Hegseth described AI development as a "wartime arms race," stating, "We will not employ AI models that won't allow you to fight wars."
Solidarity and Shared Principles
The petition aims to create solidarity between employees of the competing firms. "They're trying to divide each company with fear that the other will give in," it reads. The signatories hope their leaders will "stand together to continue to refuse the Department of War's current demands for permission to use our models for domestic mass surveillance and autonomously killing people."
Anthropic publicly affirmed its stance in a blog post on Thursday, declaring it would not allow its technology to be used for large-scale surveillance of Americans or to power weapons without human control.
Uncharted Territory and High Stakes
Experts describe the government's threat to use emergency powers against a private AI company as a novel and risky strategy. "We're absolutely in uncharted territory," said Dean Ball, a former White House policy advisor and fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation.
Ball warned the stakes for Anthropic are immense, suggesting the company "could be quasi-nationalized, or they could be driven out of business." He added that the episode signals to the broader tech industry that "doing business with the government is extremely dangerous."
The petition remains open for further signatures from verified current and former staff of both companies, who may choose to remain anonymous.