OpenAI's Pentagon deal ignites QuitGPT movement as users cancel subscriptions over military AI

The 'QuitGPT' movement gets a surge of activity after OpenAI strikes a deal with the Pentagon

* Trump cuts Anthropic; OpenAI struck a DoW deal to tailor AI, igniting public controversy * Users launch 'QuitGPT' movement, canceling subscriptions over military deal and perceived quality/politics concerns * Many recommend switching to Claude, praising Anthropic for keeping safeguards and standing on values The last day or two have been very tumultuous in the world of American AI. On Friday, we saw Donald Trump declare that he was cutting the use of Anthropic within governmental agencies. A few hours later, OpenAI announced that it had struck a deal with the Department of War to tailor an AI model that fits the military's needs without breaking down OpenAI's guardrails. Unfortunately for OpenAI, the move has caused people to claim that they've cancelled their ChatGPT subscription, citing concerns over what the company has potentially planned for the future. As people began to develop a movement to promote the idea, they quickly discovered that people had already made a home for them. Anthropic just dropped its core AI safety promise, and that should worry you History doesn't repeat itself, but AI companies sure do. Posts 1 By Mahnoor Faisal Disgruntled users are joining the 'QuitGPT' movement to put pressure on OpenAI Yes, 'joining,' not 'starting' As spotted by Tom's Guide, users are unhappy with ChatGPT's dealings with the Pentagon. If you're a little confused as to why people are cancelling their subscription to ChatGPT over its deal with the military, we need to take a look at why Trump got rid of Anthropic in the first place. Trump claimed that Anthropic disallowed the military from performing specific actions as per the company's Terms of Service. On the Anthropic blog, the company explains that two use-cases weren't in the original deal with the Department of Law: using Claude to perform mass surveillance, and adopting it to power automatic weaponry. However, the company claims that these were the DoW's major pain points: The Department of War has stated they will only contract with AI companies who accede to "any lawful use" and remove safeguards in the cases mentioned above. They have threatened to remove us from their systems if we maintain these safeguards; they have also threatened to designate us a "supply chain risk" -- a label reserved for US adversaries, never before applied to an American company -- and to invoke the Defense Production Act to force the safeguards' removal. While Sam Altman claims that OpenAI has also made an agreement with the DoW to not use its AI models for surveillance or weaponry, people aren't trusting it. As such, they began calling for people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions, only to discover that the movement had already begun before them. People began expressing their distaste for OpenAI for several reasons. These include a claim that OpenAI president Greg Brockman had political ties, a claim that ChatGPT's quality had fallen over the last few months, and people lamenting when OpenAI axed support for ChatGPT 4o, a beloved model that people pleaded the company not to get rid of. These groups come together under the 'QuitGPT' banner, and the current recommendation is for everyone to download and use Claude, citing that the company stood for its values during this whole mess.

The 'QuitGPT' movement gains steam as OpenAI's Department of War deal has users saying 'Cancel ChatGPT'

This comes as Anthropic refuses to surveil American citizens The AI landscape is highly competitive, with several companies fighting for users' attention (and ultimately money). While ChatGPT has become the household name in the AI space (much like Google is to search), the power dynamic could be shifting, with a "Cancel ChatGPT" movement gaining attention. OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, posted on X last night that his company has reached an agreement with the United States Department of War "to deploy our models in their classified network." He continued, "In all of our interactions, the DoW displayed a deep respect for safety and a desire to partner to achieve the best possible outcome." But users don't seem excited to take his claim at face value, and it's hard to blame them. OpenAI just claimed solidarity with rival Anthropic when it refused to allow its products to be used for "Mass domestic surveillance" or "Fully autonomous weapons." But it's possible this solidarity was just an opportunity for OpenAI to strike its own deal and potentially let the DOW run wild with its tech in ways that could include surveillance of U.S. citizens. In a blog post, Anthropic said, "The Department of War has stated they will only contract with AI companies who accede to 'any lawful use' and remove safeguards in the cases mentioned above," and Altman's post implies that OpenAI is okay with the government using its tools, which under certain segments of the Patriot Act could quite easily lead to the mass surveillance of U.S. citizens as part of provisions on surveiling foreign citizens. Cancel your ChatGPT Plus, burn their compute on the way out, and switch to Claude from r/ChatGPT So users are responding in the only way that can actually hurt OpenAI: with their wallets. The "Cancel ChatGPT" movement is spreading and seemingly hitting the massive AI firm in its bank account. Of course, it's hard to gauge how widespread the cancellations are -- it could be the vocal minority posting to Reddit and X while the bulk of ChatGPT users carry on, blissfully unaware that their data could be used by the Department of War. But while OpenAI is the internet's crosshairs at the moment (and Anthropic is getting all of the praise), it's worth noting that OpenAI isn't the only one okay with letting its AI services be used for potential surveillance and autonomous weapons. For example, Google removed an explicit ban on the technology from its internal rules last year, leaving Gemini open to such potential uses. Amazon only offers a vague "responsible use" language in its documentation. The leaders of the AI race have a lot of power in their hands, and while Altman said, "We remain committed to serve all of humanity as best we can. The world is a complicated, messy, and sometimes dangerous place," it's hard to take him at his word with decisions like these. I don't know about you, but the idea of ChatGPT or any other AI model deciding it's seen me commit a crime when it hallucinates, even with some of the most basic prompts, is rather scary. And the idea that it would control missiles and determine targets is even scarier. Sure, Altman claims, "We also will build technical safeguards to ensure our models behave as they should, which the DoW also wanted," but does that make you feel any better about what's happening here? It sure doesn't help me sleep any better. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.