DOD contract can pressure $ 200 million of Openai on Frenemy Microsoft

Openai said Monday The US Department of Defense granted a contract of up to 200 million dollars to help the agency identify and build the initial models systems that use its border models for administrative tasks and more.

Openai provides some examples of potential tasks, such as helping service members to obtain health care, simplify data about various programs, and “anticipated electronic defense support”. The company also said, “All cases of use should be consistent with Openai’s use policies and instructions.”

the DOD advertisement It is used a little more clear formulation. “Under this award, the performer will develop Frontier Frontier’s capabilities in order to face critical national security challenges in all areas of war wrestling and institutions,” she says.

Whether this reference to warfare applies to the weapons themselves or just other wars -related areas, such as paperwork, still should be seen. Openai’s guidelines prevent individual users from using ChatGPT or its application programming facades to develop or use weapons. However, Openai deleted the explicit prohibitions of “military and war” in the terms of service again In January 2024.

Given the extent to which some powerful people in the Silicon Valley warned of the risks of the advanced LLM models in China, it is not surprising that DOD wants to use Openai for any purposes you want. For example, Mark Andrink, co -founder of VC Andressen Horowitz, an Openai investor, recently appeared on Jack Altman (SAM Altman brother). Andrink described the race between artificial intelligence in China and Western world models as a “cold war”.

However, it may be an interesting part of this advertisement is what Openai’s says An increasingly tense relationship with the main investor Microsoft.

Microsoft He has thousands of contracts With the federal government of hundreds of millions of dollars. For decades, it has implemented the strict security protocols needed for the government – especially the Ministry of Defense – to use the cloud.

Openai has announced this deal as part of its broader “Openai for Goovernment” program, which strengthens a number of other programs that it uses to sell utensils directly to government agencies, including the American National Labs⁠, Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, NIH, and the Ministry of Treasury, according to the company.

But that only in April Microsoft announced The Ministry of Defense has approved the AZURE OpenAI service for all classified levels. Now DOD goes directly to the source. From Microsoft Perspective: OCH.

Openai or Microsoft did not respond immediately to request a comment.