“Without Human Authorisation…”: OpenAI Robotic Head Quits Over US Deal

California, March 8: The head of OpenAI’s robotics team resigned Saturday, citing the company’s deal to deploy its artificial intelligence models within the Pentagon’s classified network as the cause.

“This wasn’t an easy call,” Caitlin Kalinowski wrote in a post on X. “AI has an important role in national security. But surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization are lines that deserved more deliberation than they got.”

OpenAI confirmed Kalinowski’s departure in an email statement and said it believes the agreement with the Defense Department “creates a workable path for responsible national security uses of AI while making clear our red lines, no domestic surveillance and no autonomous weapons.”

“We recognize that people have strong views about these issues and we will continue to engage in discussion with employees, government, civil society and communities around the world,” the company said.

TechCrunch previously reported Kalinowski’s resignation.

Kalinowski joined OpenAI in November 2024 as a member of the company’s technical staff in robotics after leading development of augmented reality glasses for Meta, according to her LinkedIn profile.

OpenAI struck its deal with the Pentagon in late February following the breakdown of talks between the Trump administration and Anthropic PBC, which pressed for assurances that its technology wouldn’t be used for mass surveillance of Americans or for fully autonomous weapons. OpenAI hasn’t said whether its services for the Pentagon will replace the work previously done by Anthropic.

President Donald Trump ordered all government departments to stop working with Anthropic, and the Pentagon declared the company and its products a supply-chain risk. Anthropic, in turn, has said it would challenge the designation – which previously was reserved for entities of adversary nations such as China’s Huawei Technologies Co. – in court.

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said earlier this month that the company’s rush to reach a deal with the Defense Department looked “opportunistic and sloppy.” OpenAI also publicly disagreed with the blacklisting of Anthropic.