OpenAI has amended its newly signed contract with the US Department of Defense, days after agreeing to supply its artificial intelligence models for classified military use, after chief executive Sam Altman admitted the rushed deal “looked opportunistic and sloppy” and prompted concerns over potential domestic surveillance.

The agreement was struck on Friday, hours after negotiations between the Pentagon and rival Anthropic collapsed. OpenAI had initially said its contract contained “more guardrails than any previous agreement for classified AI deployments”, but critics argued language permitting “all lawful use” could allow mass data collection under existing US law.

Posting a message to employees on X, Altman said the company was working with the defence department to clarify that “the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of US persons and nationals”. He added: “We shouldn’t have rushed to get this out on Friday. The issues are super complex, and demand clear communication.”

OpenAI said the revised terms would prohibit deliberate tracking or monitoring of US citizens, including through commercially acquired personal data, and confirmed that intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency would be excluded from using its systems without further contractual changes. The company has maintained that its technology cannot be used to direct autonomous weapons systems.

The deal has triggered internal and public criticism. According to reports from US media outlets, nearly 900 employees at OpenAI and Google have signed an open letter urging their companies to refuse government requests involving domestic surveillance or autonomous killing, warning that current demands risked enabling unchecked uses of AI.

The fallout has had commercial repercussions. Data cited by US outlets showed day-over-day uninstalls of the ChatGPT mobile app surged by 295 per cent on Saturday compared with a typical nine per cent rate, while Anthropic’s Claude chatbot climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store rankings.

Anthropic’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, told CBS News on Saturday that his company had insisted on contractual prohibitions against mass surveillance and lethal autonomous weapons. “Congress is not the fastest moving body in the world,” he said. “For right now, we are the ones who see this technology on the front line.”

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