The company disclosed its agreement with the Department of Defense on Friday, the same day Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called competitor Anthropic a supply chain risk. Following criticism that the agreement could facilitate mass surveillance, OpenAI amended the agreement to explicitly prohibit domestic surveillance activities.

During a meeting with employees, Altman stated that he did not regret entering into the agreement with the Department of Defense but acknowledged that the timing of the announcement was problematic, according to comments reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. He told employees that the deployment appeared "opportunistic" and "not aligned with industry." These comments coincided with a memo he sent to employees and published on X (formerly Twitter, blocked in Russia) on Monday, in which he described the deal as appearing "opportunistic and careless."

The decision has drawn criticism from AI researchers at OpenAI and throughout Silicon Valley in recent days. Critics viewed the move as a concession to Pentagon pressure by agreeing to terms that permit the use of AI in all legal scenarios.