OpenAI's robotics chief resigns over Pentagon deal
Hardware chief Caitlin Kalinowski announced today that she is stepping down as head of OpenAI’s robotics team in response to the company’s controversial deal with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Hardware chief Caitlin Kalinowski announced today that she is stepping down as head of OpenAI’s robotics team in response to the company’s controversial deal with the U.S. Department of Defense.
«This was a difficult decision,» Kalinowski wrote on social media. «AI plays an important role in national security. However, surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and autonomous weapons capable of killing without human consent are boundaries that deserved much more in-depth discussion than they received.»
Kalinowski, who previously led the augmented reality glasses development team at Meta, joined OpenAI in November 2024. In her statement today, she emphasized that the decision was «principled, not human,» and said she has «deep respect» for CEO Sam Altman and the OpenAI team.
«To be clear: my complaint is that the announcement was rushed and the safeguards were not defined. This is primarily a corporate governance issue. These topics are too important to rush into deals or announcements.»
An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed Kalinowski’s resignation to TechCrunch: «We believe our agreement with the Pentagon creates a viable path for the responsible use of AI for national security purposes, while clearly defining our red lines: no domestic surveillance and no autonomous weapons,» the company said in a statement. «We recognize that people have strong views on these issues, and we will continue to engage in dialogue with employees, government, civil society, and communities around the world.»
OpenAI’s deal with the Pentagon was announced more than a week ago, after talks between the Pentagon and Anthropic broke down as the AI company tried to negotiate safeguards to prevent its technology from being used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. The Pentagon later designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk. Anthropic said it would challenge the designation in court; Microsoft, Google and Amazon, meanwhile, said they would continue to provide Anthropic’s Claude to non-defense customers.
OpenAI quickly announced its own agreement that allows its technology to be used in classified environments. While executives struggled to explain the details of the deal on social media, the company described it as based on a «more expansive, multi-layered approach.» This approach relies not only on the text of the contract, but also on technical safeguards to protect «red lines» similar to those established by Anthropic.
Still, the controversy appears to have damaged OpenAI’s reputation among some consumers, as ChatGPT’s uninstalls increased by 295%, while Claude rose to the top of the App Store charts. As of Saturday afternoon, Claude and ChatGPT remain the number one and number two free apps in the US App Store, respectively.
AI, ethics and the Pentagon: why OpenAI and Anthropic quarreled and how Claude overtook ChatGPT
AI, ethics and the Pentagon: why OpenAI and Anthropic quarreled and how Claude overtook ChatGPT
The Mayor of London invited Anthropic to expand its presence in the UK capital amid the company’s conflict in the US
The Mayor of London invited Anthropic to expand its presence in the UK capital amid the company’s conflict in the US
Nvidia says it no longer plans to invest in OpenAI and Anthropic
Nvidia says it no longer plans to invest in OpenAI and Anthropic
Read the country’s main IT news in our Telegram
Read the country’s main IT news in our Telegram
