‘We hope our leaders…’: Read letter by more than 200 Google, OpenAI employees backing Anthropic’s stand on military AI use

More than 200 employees from Google and OpenAI have showed solidarity, signing an open letter to back Anthropic’s refusal to allow its AI to be used for domestic spying or autonomous warfare. The letter aims to pressure tech giants into a unified front against Pentagon demands, effectively “drawing a line in the sand” regarding how the US government can deploy advanced artificial intelligence.

The letter argues that the Pentagon is currently playing AI companies against one another.

Why Google and OpenAI employees signed letter

The employees are calling on leadership at Google and OpenAI to “put aside their differences” and stand with Anthropic. We Will Not Be DividedThe Department of War is threatening toInvoke the Defense Production Act to force Anthropic to serve their model to the military and "tailor its model to the military's needs"Label the company a "supply chain risk"All in retaliation for Anthropic sticking to their red lines to not allow their models to be used for domestic mass surveillance and autonomously killing people without human oversight.The Pentagon is negotiating with Google and OpenAI to try to get them to agree to what Anthropic has refused.They're trying to divide each company with fear that the other will give in. That strategy only works if none of us know where the others stand. This letter serves to create shared understanding and solidarity in the face of this pressure from the Department of War.We are the employees of Google and OpenAI, two of the top AI companies in the world.We hope our leaders will put aside their differences and 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 without human oversight.

US ‘bans’ Anthropic, strikes deal with OpenAI

Anthropic strictly refusal to remove safeguards that prevent its technology from being used to target weapons autonomously (weapons that can kill without human intervention) and conduct domestic surveillance on US citizens.Pentagon also labelled Anthropic the company a “supply chain risk” after it refused to comply with military requirements.