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OpenAI plays defense while Anthropic surges

OpenAI is in the hot seat this week over the artificial intelligence company's new deal with the Pentagon, struck just hours after the agency's negotiations with competitor Anthropic over safety guardrails fell apart.

The response was nearly immediate, with uninstalls of its flagship ChatGPT app rising 295 percent day-over-day last Saturday, according to reports citing market intelligence provider Sensor Tower. Meanwhile, Anthropic's Claude app hit No. 1 in the App Store as users flocked to the app in a possible sign of support.

By Monday evening, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared an internal post to X detailing new additions to the Pentagon agreements to make the company's "principles very clear." In doing so, the company's co-founder acknowledged the company "shouldn't have rushed to get this out" last Friday.

"The issues are super complex and demand clear communication," Altman wrote. "We were genuinely trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy."

While Altman called it a "good learning experience," it is unclear whether the admission will placate critics or rebuild trust following the backlash. Multiple users on X responded to Altman's post by requesting the contract itself to be released in a show of transparency.

In one response to Altman's post with 13,000 views, one user said the "only way" to "regain any trust" is to release the contract document itself, writing, "You guys completely torched your brand and integrity on this."

The spat has gotten the attention of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, with Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii) posting to X Tuesday that he "just downloaded Claude." The issue could also be the beginning of a legislative debate.

Read more on TheHill.com

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