Connect with us

Tech

OpenAI will amend Defense Department deal to prevent mass surveillance in the US

OpenAI’s Sam Altman said the company will amend its deal with the Defense Department (or the Department of War) to explicitly prohibit the use of its AI system on mass surveillance against Americans. Altman has published an internal memo previously sent to employees on X, telling them that the company will tweak the agreement to add language to make that point especially clear. Specifically, it says:

“Consistent with applicable laws, including the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, National Security Act of 1947, FISA Act of 1978, the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Department understands this limitation to prohibit deliberate tracking, surveillance, or monitoring of U.S. persons or nationals, including through the procurement or use of commercially acquired personal or identifiable information.”

Altman has also claimed in the memo that the agency affirmed that its services will not be used by its intelligence agencies, including the NSA, without a modification to their contract. He added that if he received what he believed was an unconstitutional order, he would rather go to jail than follow it.

In addition, the OpenAI CEO has admitted in the memo that the company shouldn’t have rushed to get the deal out on Friday, February 27, since the issues were “super complex and demand clear communication.” Altman explained that the company was “trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome” but it “looked opportunistic” in the end. If you’ll recall, OpenAI announced the partnership shortly after President Trump ordered all US government agencies to stop using Claude and any other Anthropic services. To note, Anthropic started working with the US government in 2024.

The Defense Department and Secretary Pete Hegseth had been pressuring Anthropic with to remove its AI’s guardrails so that it can be used for all “lawful” purposes. Those include mass surveillance and the development of fully autonomous weapons. Anthropic refused to bow down to Hegseth’s demands and in a statement said that “no amount of intimidation or punishment” will change its “position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons.” Trump issued the order as a result. The Defense Department had also taken the first steps to designate Anthropic as a “supply chain risk,” which is typically reserved for Chinese companies believed to be working with their country’s government.

Altman said that in his conversations with US officials, he reiterated that Anthropic shouldn’t be designated as a supply chain risk and that he hoped the Defense Department would offer it the same deal OpenAI agreed to. In an AMA session on X over the weekend, Altman clarified that he didn’t know the details of Anthropic’s agreement and how it differed from the one OpenAI signed. But if it had been the same, he thought Anthropic should have agreed to it.

After the news broke out about OpenAI’s deal, Anthropic climbed its way to the number one spot of the App Store’s Top Free Apps leaderboard, beating out both ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Anthropic, capitalizing on Claude’s sudden popularity, launched a memory import tool to make switching to its chatbot from another company’s easier. Meanwhile, uninstalls for ChatGPT’s jumped by 295 percent day-over-day, according to Sensor Tower.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-will-amend-defense-department-deal-to-prevent-mass-surveillance-in-the-us-050637400.html?src=rss​OpenAI’s Sam Altman said the company will amend its deal with the Defense Department (or the Department of War) to explicitly prohibit the use of its AI system on mass surveillance against Americans. Altman has published an internal memo previously sent to employees on X, telling them that the company will tweak the agreement to add language to make that point especially clear. Specifically, it says:“Consistent with applicable laws, including the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, National Security Act of 1947, FISA Act of 1978, the AI system shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of U.S. persons and nationals.For the avoidance of doubt, the Department understands this limitation to prohibit deliberate tracking, surveillance, or monitoring of U.S. persons or nationals, including through the procurement or use of commercially acquired personal or identifiable information.”Altman has also claimed in the memo that the agency affirmed that its services will not be used by its intelligence agencies, including the NSA, without a modification to their contract. He added that if he received what he believed was an unconstitutional order, he would rather go to jail than follow it. In addition, the OpenAI CEO has admitted in the memo that the company shouldn’t have rushed to get the deal out on Friday, February 27, since the issues were “super complex and demand clear communication.” Altman explained that the company was “trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome” but it “looked opportunistic” in the end. If you’ll recall, OpenAI announced the partnership shortly after President Trump ordered all US government agencies to stop using Claude and any other Anthropic services. To note, Anthropic started working with the US government in 2024. The Defense Department and Secretary Pete Hegseth had been pressuring Anthropic with to remove its AI’s guardrails so that it can be used for all “lawful” purposes. Those include mass surveillance and the development of fully autonomous weapons. Anthropic refused to bow down to Hegseth’s demands and in a statement said that “no amount of intimidation or punishment” will change its “position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons.” Trump issued the order as a result. The Defense Department had also taken the first steps to designate Anthropic as a “supply chain risk,” which is typically reserved for Chinese companies believed to be working with their country’s government. Altman said that in his conversations with US officials, he reiterated that Anthropic shouldn’t be designated as a supply chain risk and that he hoped the Defense Department would offer it the same deal OpenAI agreed to. In an AMA session on X over the weekend, Altman clarified that he didn’t know the details of Anthropic’s agreement and how it differed from the one OpenAI signed. But if it had been the same, he thought Anthropic should have agreed to it. After the news broke out about OpenAI’s deal, Anthropic climbed its way to the number one spot of the App Store’s Top Free Apps leaderboard, beating out both ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Anthropic, capitalizing on Claude’s sudden popularity, launched a memory import tool to make switching to its chatbot from another company’s easier. Meanwhile, uninstalls for ChatGPT’s jumped by 295 percent day-over-day, according to Sensor Tower.Here is re-post of an internal post:We have been working with the DoW to make some additions in our agreement to make our principles very clear.1. We are going to amend our deal to add this language, in addition to everything else:”• Consistent with applicable laws,…— Sam Altman (@sama) March 3, 2026

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-will-amend-defense-department-deal-to-prevent-mass-surveillance-in-the-us-050637400.html?src=rss 

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tech

Best Unlimited Data Plans for 2026

​When you have a phone plan with unlimited data, you can stream your favorite shows, play games all day and just stay on top of things without interruption. However, the details behind the most popular unlimited plans can be complicated, which is why we’ve looked at data amounts, performance, pricing and perks to pick our recommended postpaid plans from three major carriers: AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.. What is the best unlimited phone plan overall?. We’d love to point to one plan and say, “Get this one,” truly. But phone plans are designed to appeal to all kinds of people by offering all kinds of options. You might value price over perks if you just need a plan that will keep you connected at all times. Or maybe you’re a frequent traveler and you want endless high-speed data and higher-resolution video streaming and are willing to pay for those features.. Assuming network coverage is good-to-great — which isn’t a given, but for the sake of argument — then cost becomes a major factor, in which case T-Mobile’s Essentials plan delivers the basics at a good value. At the other end, T-Mobile’s Experience More or Verizon’s Unlimited Plus give you plenty of features without paying the full prices of their top plans. However, there’s one thing to note about the most expensive plans: They often get the best trade-in or included device offers to entice customers to sign up for the most lucrative plans.. Best unlimited data plans for a single line. Pros. T-Mobile’s 5G network is generally robust. Plan includes 50GB of high-speed data in the US. Phone can be used as a hotspot. Unlimited calls, texts and data in Canada and Mexico. Cons. Data in Canada and Mexico limited to very slow 2G speeds. Hotspot is limited to 3G speeds. No five-year price guarantee. Everyone must be on the same plan. Taxes and fees aren’t included in monthly cost. The T-Mobile Essentials Saver plan offers unlimited data usage and includes 50GB of “Premium” data, which is the fastest-capable 5G rate available in your area. After 50GB, speeds are reduced to 3G levels for the remainder of the month. However, that Premium may not always be so premium: T-Mobile notes in the fine print that “Essentials customers may notice speeds lower than other customers and further reduction if using >50GB/month, due to data prioritization.”. You can use your phone as a mobile hotspot, also with unlimited data, but at 3G speeds. High-speed hotspot access is available as an add-on. Internationally, calls, text and data are unlimited while in Canada and Mexico, but the data is restricted to 2G speeds. Elsewhere, calls cost 25 cents per minute and texts are unlimited at no extra charge when you’re in roughly 215 countries.. As for other T-Mobile features, you’ll have to look further up the plan menu. Essentials Saver and Essentials don’t carry the 5-year price guarantee found in the Experience plans, nor does it include T-Satellite texting access, but you can add the Starlink-based service as an optional ad  

Continue Reading

Tech

Why MacBook Neo Is Going to Change Everything

​I need you to understand why the MacBook Neo is a big deal.. Maybe it’s not clear to you yet because you haven’t put your fingers on it to know it handles like a premium machine. Maybe it’s hard to feel the joy a pink or yellow laptop brings until you open one with colorful keys.. Watch this: Apple Gets It Right! Hands-on with MacBook Neo. Maybe you scoff at the specs, because it runs an iPhone processor and has 8 gigs of RAM, but you don’t realize the A18 Pro chip performs better than the M1 in MacBooks still being sold today (which also still come with 8 gigs of RAM).. Maybe you don’t think about how, for most people, a MacBook Air with an M5 chip that costs over $1,000 is overkill for their needs. It’s possible you’re not considering all the people who own an iPhone, but don’t bother investing in a MacBook because of its cost.. I got a chance to tinker with the Neo this week, Apple’s newest 13-inch machine that starts at $599 and does everything I need, with style and pizazz to boot. It has a 1080p front camera for video calls. The battery lasts 16 hours. And students can get it discounted to $499. By all measures, I didn’t feel any of the compromises on features were major. For the first time, we have a MacBook priced to compete with mid-range Windows laptops and Chromebooks.. In this week’s episode of One More Thing, embedded above, I take you along as I experience the Neo for the first time, along with exploring other hardware Apple updated this week, including the iPhone 17e and new accessories.. This might just be Apple’s smartest move in hardware in years. This is the moment where the MacBook isn’t just for rich kids or creative professionals. Many people own an iPhone but opt for cheaper computers to do basic work. And now, by Apple lowering the gate of entry, you’ll see more first-time Mac owners enjoy the benefits of having a laptop that syncs better with their iPhone software and services.. Apple held a special event in New York City on Wednesday, inviting journalists and video personalities a chance to get up close with the new machines. When Apple’s vice president of hardware, John Ternus, debuted the Neo to the crowd, he explained the purpose of its creation was simple:. “We want to get the Mac into as many people’s hands as possible,” he said.. During my time at the event, it was clear that the main mission of the Neo is to attract people who have never bought a Mac before. But I also see it as a smart buy for commuters or those wanting a secondary machine for the family.. I also got to demo products on the other end of the spectrum. It’s easy to lust over the specs of the latest MacBook Pros, now with the option to get a M5 Pro or Max chip that’s stuffed to the gills with more cores than I’ll ever need. A fully tricked-out model can go as high as $6,899. I saw the benefits by watching someone use AI to code an app in under a minute. In a blink, another program used AI to layer new instruments on a music track.. But creatives hav  

Continue Reading

Tech

MWC 2026 Live: All the Robots Phones, Concepts, AI and Labubu-Like Bots We Saw

​Part phone, part lighter. It can make calls and make fire. David Lumb/CNET. Have you ever wanted your phone to last for days in the wild and light your campfire, too? At the Showstoppers press event ahead of MWC 2026, I saw a new smartphone from outdoor electronics company Oukitel that aims to be an all-in-one device for the rugged digital nomad.. The Oukitel WP63 phone is around $500 and checks a lot of boxes. It’s got a 20,000-mAh battery — yes, twenty thousand milliamp hours — with an included USB-C port that can charge your other devices. It also powers the audio speaker and LED lamp embedded in the back of the phone, the latter of which can get so bright that a pop-up warns you not to look directly at it to avoid eye damage.. The top of the phone has a piece that can create a flame. David Lumb/CNET. The Oukitel WP63’s coolest feature is its ability to start a fire. You can activate that feature with a tab at the top of the phone that’s surprisingly tricky to flip out. (That’s a nice protective element that keeps it from accidentally popping open in your pocket.) Once deployed, an electric coil, similar to an old car dashboard cigarette lighter, activates via an app. There’s a setting to keep it lit for 4 to 10 minutes, in theory, to warm your surroundings.. I want to be honest that I didn’t see the phone light anything on fire — the preproduction unit at Showstoppers got too hot to demonstrate the lighter effect. But I saw videos of it working earlier in the night.. And yes, the phone is an actual smartphone, too. It runs Android 16 out of the box, with three years of promised software and security updates. It has a 6.7-inch Full HD (1,604×720-pixel) display, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage and a 64-megapixel rear camera, so it functioned like a regular smartphone as far as I could tell when I handled it. But if you want to buy one when it starts going on sale in April, prepare your pockets: the WP63 is a massive 27mm thick. That’s almost equivalent to four of the new Samsung Galaxy S26 phones (7.2mm) stacked on top of each other.  

Continue Reading

Tech

Prime Video: 24 Sci-Fi TV Shows You Absolutely Need to Stream Right Now

​Prime Video has steadily built a formidable roster of sci-fi TV shows. Considering the amount of time I’ve put into compiling similar science fiction guides for streamers like Netflix and Apple TV, I like to think I know what I’m talking about. Compared to the two heavy-hitters I just referenced, Prime Video holds its own in the genre space; these sci-fi TV shows hit different.. What do I mean by that? Comparing the three streamers, it’s clear that Prime Video’s genre offerings lean into an indie-film aesthetic. Many of the titles you’ll find below go against the grain. They feature offbeat, edgy narratives, making these shows impactful on many levels.. You want something bleak and dystopian? Prime Video has it. If you want something with lesser stakes and a lighter tone, you can find those types of shows here, too. Below are the best sci-fi shows on Prime Video right now. Please check back each month, as I’ll be updating this article regularly.. Read more: Prime Video: The 30 Absolute Best Shows to Watch. Stream sci-fi on Prime Video  

Continue Reading

Tech

Daylight Saving Time Has an Unexpected Benefit for Home Safety

​Amid springing forward woes like sleep disruption, there’s one spot of good news for the early-year daylight saving time. Jumping ahead an hour means the evenings are brighter, and that has a direct impact on break-ins. After spring DST, the number of burglaries start to fall, especially in more moderate climates, giving your home security tech a break.. At first, this may seem puzzling. As our conversations with criminologists have shown, many burglars prefer to strike homes in the middle of the day, when they’re more confident the house will be empty. But plenty of burglars still like to wait for the cover of darkness, and research has shown DST has a significant impact on their behavior.. Studies such as this research from Jennifer Doleac and Nicholas Sanders (PDF) have shown (even with other factors accounted for) the extra hour of daylight leads to a decrease in crimes such as robberies, which fall by as much as 27% during the sunset hours to save around $246 million in social crime costs each year. That also applies to reported crimes such as murder and rape, which fall significantly as the evening brightens — murder reports by as much 48% and rape by 56%.. While researchers noted that “Individuals discover a burglary upon returning home, or a stolen car on the following morning, but have no idea what time during the day the burglary occurred,” the trend appears to apply to all spur-of-the-moment crimes — which most break-ins fall under.. The reverse is even more noticeable for home crime. When home security company Vivint compared crime rates, it found that home burglaries and related crimes jumped 16% when daylight savings time ended in the fall.. Blink offers a cheap option for a smart floodlight cam. Blink. So while moving our clocks backward and forward can be a pain, keep in mind that March’s DST shift is helping to keep you and your home safer. There are also signs that bright streetlights can have a similar effect, helping to cut down on all kinds of theft. It turns out people prefer the dark when they get in a stealing mood and a brighter atmosphere makes them less likely to act out.. While more active daylight hours tend to reduce property crimes, the temperature can have an opposing effect. Unseasonably warm winters and hot summers tend to increase certain types of crimes like burglaries. Much of the increase is due to more opportunities: People leave their windows and garages open more often, they go on vacation more frequently and they move around more. In northern states, the lack of snow and ice also makes property crimes easier. So be careful when you’re making your warm-weather plans and use my guide on prepping your home for vacation.. To add a bit more light around your own home, you should stop by our picks for the best security cameras with floodlights for a similar effect. Look up our list of tips to deter burglars to learn even more.  

Continue Reading

Latest News

Politics1 hour ago

Bharat Petroleum sends SMS alerts, denies any fuel shortage in India as US and Israel’s conflict with Iran spreads

 India’s major public-sector company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has assured customers of fuel availability amid social media panic over...

Politics3 hours ago

BJP will form government in Uttarakhand again in 2027: Amit Shah in Haridwar

 Union home minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will once again form its government...

Politics3 hours ago

BJP recasts ‘permission’ to buy Russian oil as US seeking India’s ‘help’, Cong hits back with US treasury secy’s remarks

 A political slugfest continues between the opposition Congress and the ruling BJP after the United States said it had “allowed”...

Politics4 hours ago

Absolutely certain that global warming has accelerated in past decade: Study

 Global warming has accelerated in the past ten years with a new study concluding it with 98% certainty. While scientists...

Politics6 hours ago

When will Noida International Airport open? What we know after key DGCA license granted

 The upcoming Noida international airport might be set to begin operations within the next two months, after the Directorate General...

Politics6 hours ago

Delhi Uttam Nagar clashes LIVE: Vehicles set on fire, streets choked with protests amid tensions

 Live. By. Delhi Uttam Nagar clashes LIVE updates: To prevent tensions in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar amid ongoing protests, security has...

Politics6 hours ago

Delhi Uttam Nagar clashes LIVE: Vehicles set on fire, streets choked with protests amid tensions

 Live. By. Delhi Uttam Nagar clashes LIVE updates: To prevent tensions in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar amid ongoing protests, security has...

Politics6 hours ago

Delhi Uttam Nagar clashes LIVE: Vehicles set on fire, streets choked with protests amid tensions

 Live. By. Delhi Uttam Nagar clashes LIVE updates: To prevent tensions in Delhi’s Uttam Nagar amid ongoing protests, security has...

Politics7 hours ago

MP man, out of jail, kills teen; locals see him ‘eating victim’s brain’, ‘drinking blood’

 A 46-year-old man, who was released from jail a few weeks ago in a case related to the murder of...

Politics8 hours ago

Veteran journalist Narayan Bareth passes away after cardiac arrest in Jaipur

 Veteran journalist Narayan Bareth passed away here after suffering a cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment for pneumonia, a family member...

Trending News

Join Our Newsletter

Stay updated with breaking news and exclusive content.