Millions of people refuse to let the Big Brother watch and track them through the benign ChatGPT conversations or browser history, cancelling their OpenAI chatbot subscriptions in protest of the firm’s cooperation with the Pentagon.
OpenAI, the AI research company behind ChatGPT, is facing fervent criticism following its recent agreement to allow its artificial intelligence models to be used on classified networks of the U.S. Department of Defense. The deal was announced after negotiations between the Pentagon and rival AI firm Anthropic broke down over ethical concerns about surveillance and autonomous weapons.
Under the contract, OpenAI says its technology will not be used for mass domestic surveillance, autonomous weapon systems, or high‑stakes automated decision‑making, and that safeguards and human oversight will be maintained. The company also emphasised it retains control over safety protocols.
“In our agreement, we protect our red lines through a more expansive, multi-layered approach. We retain full discretion over our safety stack, we deploy via cloud, cleared OpenAI personnel are in the loop, and we have strong contractual protections. This is all in addition to the strong existing protections in U.S. law,” claims OpenAI’s official announcement
Despite these assurances, a movement urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions, often called “QuitGPT”, has gained traction online, with organisers claiming more than 1.5 million users have taken action, including cancelling paid subscriptions or at least publicly sharing boycott messages. Critics argue that OpenAI’s decision contrasts with Anthropic’s refusal to accept a similar deal without clearer restrictions.
In particular, Anthropic’s team has publicly stated that they could not reach an agreement with the Department of War, as their negotiations “reached an impasse” over two exceptions the firm requested to the lawful use of its AI model, Claude: the mass domestic surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons. In response, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shared on X that he is directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic a supply chain risk to national security.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has acknowledged the controversy in the agreement proposed by the government, describing some initial contract wording as “opportunistic and sloppy” and saying the company is working to clarify contractual language and ethical safeguards with the Defence Department so that important controls are clear in the contract rather than just implied.
In particular, OpenAI is reportedly adding new language to make its principles clearer, including an explicit statement that the AI will not be used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals. At the same time, that phrasing “U.S. persons and nationals” does not explicitly include all immigrant groups, such as lawful permanent residents (green card holders) who are not U.S. citizens, or non‑citizens living in the United States, sparking even more criticism, especially considering current immigrant policies in the U.S.
The agreement is also supposed to state that OpenAI services will not be used by certain intelligence agencies (such as the NSA that intercepts and decodes electronic communications, including phone calls, emails, and internet traffic, from foreign targets) unless a separate modification is agreed
The dispute has sparked discussion among AI researchers, users, and industry commentators about the role of advanced AI technologies in military and government applications, highlighting broader tensions over ethics, transparency, and public trust in artificial intelligence.
