OpenAI robotics head resigns over Pentagon deal
The head of OpenAI’s hardware team, Caitlin Kalinowski, resigned over the weekend. In posts on social media, Kalinowski said she was concerned about OpenAI’s recent agreement with the Department of Defense.
The agreement would make OpenAI’s generative AI systems available inside secure Defense Department computing systems.
“I resigned from OpenAI. I care deeply about the robotics team and the work we built together. This wasn’t an easy call,” Kalinsowski wrote on X. “AI has an important role in national security. But surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization are lines that deserved more deliberation than they got. This was about principle, not people. I have deep respect for Sam and the team, and I’m proud of what we built together.”
“To be clear, my issue is that the announcement was rushed without the guardrails defined,” she wrote in a follow-up post. “It’s a governance concern first and foremost. These are too important for deals or announcements to be rushed.”
Kalinowski joined OpenAI in November 2024 to lead the company’s renewed hardware and robotics group. While at the company, Kalinowski helped to build the company’s robotics group as it scaled. Before working at OpenAI, Kalinowski led the Meta team building augmented reality glasses.
OpenAI’s defense agreement
Kalinowski’s resignation comes as AI’s role in military operations becomes an increasingly heated discussion. In recent months, the Pentagon has put pressure on leading AI companies to allow their models to be used for “all lawful purposes.” Anthropic, another AI developer, has pushed back on this assertion.
Anthropic hoped to ink a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and negotiate guidelines to prevent its AI technology from being used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. After the discussions fell through, the Pentagon designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk. Anthropic said it plans to fight against this designation in court.
OpenAI announced its deal with the DoD at the end of February. The news came just days after Anthropic ended its own discussions with the DoD. As part of its agreement with the DoD, OpenAI is allowing its technology to be used in classified environments. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, claimed that the company’s contract includes protections preventing the DoD from using the company’s technology for surveillance or autonomous weapons.
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