Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calls OpenAI’s messaging around military deal ‘straight up lies,’ report says

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei publicly accused OpenAI of lying in a staff memo, calling their Pentagon deal 'safety theater.' Anthropic had walked away from a $200M DoD contract after the military refused to commit to restrictions on domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. OpenAI then stepped in and signed a deal allowing AI use for 'all lawful purposes' — language Anthropic explicitly rejected. Amodei claims Altman is falsely positioning himself as a peacemaker, while critics note that 'lawful' protections could erode as laws change. Public reaction appears to favor Anthropic, with ChatGPT uninstalls surging 295% after the OpenAI-DoD deal was announced.