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I don't see how OpenAI employees who have signed the We Will Not Be Divided letter can continue their employment there in light of this. Surely if OpenAI had in
by Imnimo 7mo ago
I don't see how OpenAI employees who have signed the We Will Not Be Divided letter can continue their employment there in light of this. Surely if OpenAI had insisted upon the same things that Anthropic had, the government would not have signed this agreement. The only plausible explanation is that there is an understanding that OpenAI will not, in practice, enforce the red lines.
- tempaccount420 7mo agoDidn't the safety-conscious employees already leave when OpenAI fired Sam Altman and then re-hired him? In my mind the only people left are those who are there for the stocks.
- AbstractH24 7mo agoIn all seriousness, what’s the average tenure at OpenAI and how much of the company in March 2026 was even around for that?
- lioeters 7mo agoIt's comforting to know that some of the brightest minds of our generation are going to work at OpenAI, then quitting a few months later horrified, only to post a short mysterious tweet warning everyone of the dangers ahead. So much for alignment and serving humanity.
- stingraycharles 7mo agoAnd they will continue to work for Google / Meta et al to use novel AI techniques to sell us more and better ads, only to quit a few years later to do more soul searching where everything went wrong /s
- DANmode 7mo agoReview the signers https://notdivided.org https://notdivided.org
- pluc 7mo agoThey've been deleted. For obvious reasons. You want to take a stand but you don't want to stop working for the people who do the things you don't want to do. It's all so very american. I'll put my name on but if it doesn't work remove my name so I don't get into trouble ok? Home of the brave.
- UqWBcuFx6NV4r 7mo agoWhat are you on about? The names are still there.
- bobanrocky 7mo agoAnd h1 slaves
- vineyardmike 7mo agoNah. It's possible that the agreement still supports the required terms. There is more to this story behind the scenes. The government wanted to show power and control over our companies and industries. They didn’t need those terms for any specific utility, they wanted to fight “woke” business that stood up to them. Supposedly OpenAI had the same terms as Anthropic (according to SamA). Maybe they offered it cheaper and that’s why they agreed. Maybe it’s all the lobbying money from OpenAI that let the government look the other way. Maybe it’s all the PR announcements SamA and Trump do together.
- SpicyLemonZest 7mo agoMaybe Sam Altman said nicer things about Donald Trump. Maybe he promised that he would not revoke their API keys when Hegseth directs the military to seize ballots. Maybe he's jockeying for position to take over the government when AGI hits. Ultimately, I don't know how much the specific reasons matter. Pete Hegseth must be removed from office, OpenAI must be destroyed for their betrayal of the US public, that's all there is to it.
- toufka 7mo ago1) Another OpenAI cofounder (Brockman) gave Trump’s superPAC the largest ever individual donation of $25m. 2) Trump’s son in law (Kushner) has most of his net worth wrapped up in OpenAI.
- m_ke 7mo agodon't forget that Sama is a Thiel protege
- paganel 7mo ago> Trump’s son in law (Kushner) has most of his net worth wrapped up in OpenAI. If true (too lazy to check but I honestly take your word for it), this should probably be bigger news. Not that the outright corruption when it comes to the highest position in the US Government constitutes news anymore, but because it puts the Government’s fight against Anthropic (and supposedly other potential OpenAI competitors) in a new light.
- coliveira 7mo agoYes, what is implied in this episode is that all big companies that do AI development or provide computing for Ai are now signing for these very shady uses of their technologies.
- granzymes 7mo ago>Surely if OpenAI had insisted upon the same things that Anthropic had, the government would not have signed this agreement. Have we been watching the same Trump admin for the last year? That sound exactly like something the government would do: pointlessly throw a fit and end up signing a worse deal after blowing up all political capital.
- davidw 7mo agoThey seem moderately competent at doing blatant corruption ( https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/official-trump/ https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/official-trump/ , Qatari jet, etc...). See jeffbee's comment below.
- unethical_ban 7mo agoWhile that thought crossed my mind, someone in a sub thread of parent comment made a point: OpenAI made a statement about how "We insisted this be not be used in those ways and DoD totally says they won't". Which sounds to me like they ceded any hard terms oand conditions and are letting the DoD use it in "any lawful means" which is what Anthropic didn't stand for.
- arugulum 7mo ago> Surely if OpenAI had insisted upon the same things that Anthropic had, the government would not have signed this agreement. But they did. "Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems. The DoW agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement."
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- newguytony 7mo agoGood ole Sammy has never lied
- arugulum 7mo agoIf your starting position is already that Sam Altman lies about everything that doesn't fit your preconceived positions, that doesn't seem like a very useful meaningful position to update.
- lioeters 7mo agoThe company started with a lie, it's in the name.
- johnbellone 7mo agoYes.
- sumeno 7mo agoOk, but he does
- fooker 7mo agoUnrelated, but want to buy a bridge? You could recoup your investment in a year by collecting toll. Expedited financing available on good credit!
- outside1234 7mo agoAll of us can act too. Stop using the OpenAI models. Stop using the app. Design in other models no matter what. Screw these guys.
- foo12bar 7mo agoDo you expect that to work?
- PaulDavisThe1st 7mo agoNo, I expect you to die, Mr. Bond.
- komali2 7mo agoIt's a commoditized market so it doesn't hurt to try.
- calgoo 7mo agoIts about network effect - The biggest issue is that ChatGPT is a household name like Google at this point. Everyone and their grandma knows it or are learning about it, while Claude is very well known in the tech circles. Getting tech people to switch is relativity easy (ignoring Enterprise contracts), but getting everyone else to switch is going to be very slow. Honestly, the best thing to happen is that someone comes up with a new UI (think claw...like) that everyone starts using instead. A very cute, well integrated system that just works for everyone, has free tier, and has something that the others dont have.
- throw0101c 7mo ago>> All of us can act too. Stop using the OpenAI models. Stop using the app. Design in other models no matter what. Screw these guys. > Do you expect that to work? Many years ago Tim O'Reilly (of book publishing fame) knew Apple would one day would become really big even though they were a small, niche player in the "PC" space as the time (2000s). How did he know that? By seeing what the 'alpha geeks' were doing: the folks that not just used tech, but were working at companies that were inventing the future. They were the ones where friends and families asked for advice. And the alpha geeks (at the time) were switch to MacOS X and telling their friends and family about it. * https://www.oreilly.com/tim/archives/rationaledge_interview.pdf https://www.oreilly.com/tim/archives/rationaledge_interview.... * https://www.wired.com/2006/05/tim-says-watch-alpha-geeks/ https://www.wired.com/2006/05/tim-says-watch-alpha-geeks/ There's a good chance that if you're on HN, you're the person in your non-techies social group that many others ask for advice. You can potentially sway many people by your example and your advice.
- hirvi74 7mo ago> The only plausible explanation is that there is an understanding that OpenAI will not, in practice, enforce the red lines. Do you mean the same OpenAI that has a retired U.S. Army General & former director of the NSA (Gen. Nakasone) serving on its board of directors?
- 2snakes 7mo agoI think it is like a loyalty test to an authority above the law (executive immunity) in order to do business. “If we tell you to do so, you may do something you thought was right or wrong.” It is like an induction into a faction and the way the decisions could be made. Doesn’t necessarily mean anything about “in practice in the future”, just that the cybernetic override is there tacitly. If the authority thinks they can get away with something, they will provide protection for consequences too. Some people more equal than others when it comes to justice for all, etc. There are probably alternative styles for group decision making…
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- tedsanders 7mo agoI'm an OpenAI employee and I'll go out on a limb with a public comment. I agree AI shouldn't be used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons. I also think Anthropic has been treated terribly and has acted admirably. My understanding is that the OpenAI deal disallows domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, and that OpenAI is asking for the same terms for other AI companies (so that we can continue competing on the basis of differing services and not differing scruples). Given this understanding, I don't see why I should quit. If it turns out that the deal is being misdescribed or that it won't be enforced, I can see why I should quit, but so far I haven't seen any evidence that's the case.
- mda 7mo agoI can totally see why you should quit, but we see different things apparently.
- mathisfun123 7mo ago> Given this understanding, I don't see why I should quit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivated_reasoning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivated_reasoning
- pear01 7mo agoWhy would you believe that? If that were the case what was the issue with Anthropic even about? You, and your colleagues, should resign.
- permo-w 7mo agoYou tell me why an employee would believe something convenient to them continuing to receive their paycheck
- gizzlon 7mo agoLife is more than a paycheck. We should raise the bar a little IMO. Turning down money for good reasons is not something extreme we should only expect from saints.
- weatherlite 7mo ago> I don't see how OpenAI employees who have signed the We Will Not Be Divided letter can continue their employment there in light of this Well some may voluntarily leave, some will be actively poached by Anthropic perhaps and some I suppose will stay in their jobs because leaving isn't an easy decision to make.
- latexr 7mo ago> some I suppose will stay in their jobs because leaving isn't an easy decision to make. Anyone who chooses to stay shouldn’t have signed the letter. What’s the point of doing it if you’re not going to follow through? If you signed the letter and don’t leave after the demands aren’t met, you’re a liar and a coward and are actively harming every signatory of every future letter.
- cheonn638 7mo ago[dead]
- ivan_gammel 7mo agoAnother plausible explanation that is familiar to a lot of people in other countries is banal corruption. Kick out one competitor on bogus allegations, then on the next day invite another one… what else that could be?
- miohtama 7mo agoOpenAI is already doing mass surveillance, so nothing changes https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/21/tumbler-ridge-shooter-chatgpt-openai https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/21/tumbler-ridge-...
- chpatrick 7mo ago"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." - Upton Sinclair
- no_wizard 7mo agoFor all I know Sam Altman orchestrated this via well timed donations and whatever the hell contacts he has in government, Trump specifically seems to have taken the man So using Anthropic’s own words to cover a power play or pulling relationships to see if they could get anthropic to balk at it.
- the_real_cher 7mo agoHave you seen the size of OpenAi employees comp? Woolad theyll create the autonomous military robots themselves for that check.
- vander_elst 7mo ago> I don't see how OpenAI employees who have signed the We Will Not Be Divided letter can continue their employment [...] Sometimes money is more attractive than morality. So I guess money is the answer here.
- 4ndrewl 7mo agoThis is not a turning point. This is the destination. Were you onboard the wrong train?
- KellyCriterion 7mo agoThe ones who signed are not the same as the ones who didnt sign and continue to work there, Id guess?
- shevy-java 7mo agoMakes sense.
- lazide 7mo agoI few will leave. Most will look nervously at their (non-public) stock and their bank accounts, and continuing keeping on.
- garyclarke27 7mo agoI would not discount how much of a factor, irrational human emotions play in negotiations. Dario is arrogant and pompous so probably wound Hegseth up the wrong way. Sam is much more charming and amenable so more able to get his way despite similar terms.
- pluc 7mo agoEasy: have no principles that money can't buy. That's the American Dream!
- righthand 7mo agoMoney buddy, they never cared. They didn’t care when they went back on their safety and guidance boards, they didn’t care when they tried to push Altman out, and these employees won’t care when the first AI nuke launches. Money, money, money so they don’t think about it later. It’s the exact same reason Facebook employees have given us the other side of surveillance hell.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- chazftw 7mo agoIt was just a ruse to figure out who to fire. Either resign on your own terms or get fired. Companies and government only have one loyalty, to themselves,
- tmpz22 7mo agoThey were always in it just for the money. The morals were just there while it was easy virtue signaling. Same for almost all Google, Facebook, etc. Prove me wrong, please.
- raw_anon_1111 7mo ago> I don't see how OpenAI employees who have signed the We Will Not Be Divided letter can continue their employment there in light of this https://www.levels.fyi/companies/openai/salaries https://www.levels.fyi/companies/openai/salaries
- ecocentrik 7mo agoI think the problem might actually be with reenforcing the red lines. The events of the last few weeks and this new deal only make sense if Anthropic was trying to find out how Palantir and the Pentagon had circumvented their restrictions to attempt to reenforce those restrictions like company actually concerned about the misuse of their product. OpenAI most likely came in with assurances that they wouldn't attempt to reinforce their restrictions.
- zingerlio 7mo agoOpenAI employees put knives on their own necks to demand Altman to get back and be their boss [1], not too long ago, right? Altman wiggles his tongues and makes them a solid paycheck. "We will not be divided," unless the water boils slow enough. Wait for a few months, he will renegotiate the terms with DoD, just like his move to turn OpenAI into a for-profit. [1]: https://www.wired.com/story/openai-staff-walk-protest-sam-altman/ https://www.wired.com/story/openai-staff-walk-protest-sam-al...
- randall 7mo agoi don’t get it. what’s his motive in your view? he literally has no shares in openai.
- Jensson 7mo agoMaybe he just wants power? Some people are just evil and don't need greed to fuel their evil ways.
- randall 7mo agoeven marvel villain thanos was given a plausible motivation. i don’t think if you actually knew him as a person you’d think this was a reasonable perception.
- ziiiiig 7mo ago[dead]
- tjwebbnorfolk 7mo ago> I don't see how OpenAI employees who have signed the We Will Not Be Divided letter can continue their employment there um, easy -- everyone has a price. Some of the most highly-paid workers on the planet work there. Pay me $5M/yr and there are a LOT of things I wouldn't do for $300k.
- crowcroft 7mo agoIt is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.