New Delhi, Feb 28 The United States Department of Defense has approved the deployment of artificial intelligence models developed by OpenAI on its classified network, following a strategic agreement between the two sides, Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said on Saturday.
Altman confirmed that the company has finalised terms with the Pentagon to operationalise its models within secure, classified cloud environments. He said discussions with the Defense Department reflected “deep respect for safety” and alignment on responsible AI deployment.
In a post on X, Altman described the agreement as consistent with OpenAI’s broader mission to ensure AI safety while expanding access to its benefits. He emphasised that two non-negotiable principles — prohibition of domestic mass surveillance and maintaining human responsibility in the use of force, including autonomous weapon systems — remain intact under the deal.
According to Altman, these safeguards are embedded in US law and Defense Department policy and have been formally incorporated into the agreement. He added that OpenAI will implement additional technical controls to ensure its systems function as intended within classified settings.
As part of the arrangement, the company will deploy field engineers to support secure implementation and oversight of the models. The systems will operate exclusively within protected cloud infrastructure.
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