OpenAI looking at contract with NATO, source says

By Hyunsu Yim

March 3 (Reuters) – OpenAI is considering a contract to deploy its AI technology on North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) “unclassified” networks, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, days after the ChatGPT-owner struck a deal with the Pentagon.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that OpenAI was considering an agreement with NATO.

The newspaper said the OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, had initially said in a company meeting that it was looking to deploy on all NATO classified networks, but a company spokeswoman later clarified to the Journal that Altman misspoke and the contract opportunity was for NATO’s “unclassified networks.”

NATO, a 32-member military alliance, did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, Amazon and others, announced a deal late last week to deploy its technology in the Pentagon’s classified network, after U.S. President Donald Trump directed the government to stop working with rival Anthropic.

MASS SURVEILLANCE

Anthropic’s removal followed a standoff in contract talks with the Pentagon over the use of the firm’s technology. Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, had stressed the company’s opposition to the Pentagon using its AI models for mass domestic surveillance or to power fully autonomous weapons.

The Pentagon has said previously it had no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans or using AI to develop weapons that operate without human involvement, but wanted any lawful use of AI to be allowed.

In an updated statement on Monday after striking a deal on Friday, OpenAI said its AI systems “shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals,” adding that the Pentagon also affirmed that AI services would not be used by intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA).

“I think this was an example of a complex, but right decision with extremely difficult brand consequences and very negative PR for us in the short term,” Altman said in a company meeting on Tuesday, referring to the Pentagon deal, according to the Wall Street Journal.

(Reporting by Abu Sultan in Bengaluru; Writing by Shubham Kalia; Editing by Alan Barona and Kate Mayberry)