How AI safety took a backseat to military money

"Today, I'm talking with Heidy Khlaaf, who is chief AI scientist at the AI Now Institute and one of the industry's leading experts in the safety of AI within autonomous weapons systems. Heidy has actually worked with OpenAI in the past; from late 2020 to mid-2021, she was a senior systems safety engineer for the company during a critical time, when it was developing safety and risk assessment frameworks for the company's Codex coding tool."

"Now, the same companies that have previously seemed to champion safety and ethics in their mission statements are now actively selling and developing new technology for military applications. In 2024, OpenAI removed a ban on "military and warfare" use cases from its terms of service. Since then, the company has signed a deal with autonomous weapons maker Anduril and, this past June, signed a $200 million Department of Defense contract."

"OpenAI is not alone. Anthropic, which has a reputation as one of the most safety-oriented AI labs, has partnered with Palantir to allow its models to be used for US defense and intelligence purposes, and it also landed its own $200 million DoD contract. And Big Tech players like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, who have long worked with the government, are now also pushing AI products for defense and intelligence, despite growing outcry from critics and employee ac"

A leading AI safety expert served at OpenAI from late 2020 to mid-2021, contributing to safety and risk assessment frameworks for the Codex coding tool. Companies that previously championed safety and ethics are actively selling and developing AI for military applications. In 2024, OpenAI removed a ban on "military and warfare" use cases, then signed a deal with autonomous weapons maker Anduril and a $200 million Department of Defense contract. Anthropic partnered with Palantir to enable model use for US defense and intelligence and also secured a $200 million DoD contract. Large tech firms including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are advancing AI for defense despite growing criticism and employee unrest.

Read at The Verge