Sam Altman called the deal with the Pentagon a mistake amid the ChatGPT boycott - ForkLog: cryptocurrencies, AI, singularity, future

2026-03-03 15:19:12

# Sam Altman Calls Deal with Pentagon a Mistake Amid ChatGPT Boycott

OpenAI will make amendments to its agreement with the Pentagon due to widespread criticism and a mass shift of users to Anthropic. This was announced by the CEO of the AI startup, Sam Altman.

Here is a repost of an internal message:

We have been working with the DoD to add some clarifications to our agreement to make our principles very clear.

We will amend our deal to include this language, along with everything else:

“• In accordance with applicable laws,…”

— Sam Altman (@sama) March 3, 2026

“One mistake I made was rushing into the deal. The issues are very complex and require clear communication. We sincerely tried to reduce tension and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it looked opportunistic and sloppy,” he wrote.

OpenAI signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense on February 28. A few hours prior, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to cease using Anthropic’s tools.

The reason was a statement by the project’s CEO, Dario Amodei, who publicly banned the use of the developer’s neural networks for mass surveillance and autonomous weapons creation.

New Conditions

In the revised contract, OpenAI added a clause prohibiting “deliberate use of artificial intelligence” for spying on U.S. citizens. It also specifies that restrictions apply to the purchase or use of commercial databases of personal data.

The U.S. Department of Defense also confirmed that the company’s tools will not be used by intelligence agencies, including the NSA. Any supplies to such agencies will require additional agreements.

“It is extremely important to protect American citizens’ civil liberties. This has received so much attention that we wanted to clarify this point very clearly,” explained OpenAI’s CEO.

He emphasized that democratic processes should be followed in controlling AI development. According to Altman, no private company should decide the fate of the world.

The CEO of ChatGPT developer called on the Pentagon not to list Anthropic among supply chain threats and to offer competitors the same conditions as OpenAI.

“I believe the real dangers to the world are still ahead. I tried to put myself in the shoes of someone waking up the day after an attack on the U.S. or the emergence of a new biological weapon that we could help prevent,” Altman concluded.

ChatGPT Boycott

Following the news of the deal with the Pentagon, American users began mass uninstalling ChatGPT, reports TechCrunch. In one day on March 1, the number of deletions increased by 295%, according to Sensor Tower.

The usual daily uninstallation rate over the past 30 days was 9%, the analysts clarified.

Download activity shifted from growth to decline: immediately after the agreement, ChatGPT downloads dropped by 13%, and the next day — by another 5%. The app’s rating also plummeted: the number of 5-star reviews halved, while negative reviews increased by 8.5 times on the first night and doubled on March 2.

ChatGPT is getting COOKED on the iOS App Store reviews and I think it’s deserved. pic.twitter.com/QaCZx7iHrC
— Not Greg (@dogecoinmillion) March 3, 2026

Claude downloads from Anthropic surged 37% on February 28 and another 51% on March 1. The chatbot reached the top spot in the US App Store and maintained the lead as of March 3.

Other analytics platforms confirmed the trend. Appfigures reported that daily installations of Claude in the U.S. first surpassed ChatGPT: on March 1, the figure increased by 88%. The app also topped the free iPhone app charts in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland.

Download dynamics of Claude and ChatGPT mobile apps in February. Source: TechCrunch/Appfigures. Similarweb estimated that in the past week, Claude’s downloads in the U.S. exceeded January’s roughly 20 times. However, experts urged caution, noting that other factors could have influenced the statistics.

In addition to boycotting ChatGPT, over 700 employees from Google and OpenAI signed an open letter. The document calls for a halt to using AI in surveillance systems or for military tasks without direct human oversight.

Recall that in mid-February, Bloomberg journalists reported plans by SpaceX to develop software for autonomous weapons for the Pentagon.

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