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J. Edward Moreno

OpenAI is reportedly working with Pentagon to hash out guardrails amid Anthropic standoff over AI safety

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the company is working with the Pentagon to negotiate safety guardrails for AI models used in the battlefield, which comes as one of its top competitors, Anthropic, is at a standoff with the government.

According to a memo obtained by several media outlets, Altman told staff OpenAI believes “that AI should not be used for mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons, and that humans should remain in the loop for high-stakes automated decisions. These are our main red lines.”

Anthropic, the company behind the AI chatbot Claude, was one of several firms that received a $200 million contract from the Department of Defense for “agentic workflows.”

Since then, tensions between Anthropic and the Pentagon have reportedly risen as the startup insists on surveillance restrictions. The government’s attack on Venezuela last month that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro reportedly involved the use of Anthropic’s Claude AI models for planning, which caused the startup to push back on the alleged violation of its terms of use.

Anthropic has until 5:01 p.m. ET on Friday to reach a deal with the Pentagon, which has threatened consequences against the company if it doesn’t allow the government unrestricted use.

Altman’s comments come as the Financial Times reports that executives at Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are being pushed by workers to support Anthropic in its dispute with the Pentagon and adopt similar guardrails as the Claude company in any work they undertake with the US military.

Sam Altman says OpenAI shares Anthropic's red lines in Pentagon fight

Sam Altman says OpenAI shares Anthropic's red lines in Pentagon fight

According to a memo obtained by several media outlets, Altman told staff OpenAI believes “that AI should not be used for mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons, and that humans should remain in the loop for high-stakes automated decisions. These are our main red lines.”

Anthropic, the company behind the AI chatbot Claude, was one of several firms that received a $200 million contract from the Department of Defense for “agentic workflows.”

Since then, tensions between Anthropic and the Pentagon have reportedly risen as the startup insists on surveillance restrictions. The government’s attack on Venezuela last month that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro reportedly involved the use of Anthropic’s Claude AI models for planning, which caused the startup to push back on the alleged violation of its terms of use.

Anthropic has until 5:01 p.m. ET on Friday to reach a deal with the Pentagon, which has threatened consequences against the company if it doesn’t allow the government unrestricted use.

Altman’s comments come as the Financial Times reports that executives at Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are being pushed by workers to support Anthropic in its dispute with the Pentagon and adopt similar guardrails as the Claude company in any work they undertake with the US military.

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Max Knoblauch

US regulators reportedly appear likely to approve Paramount’s Warner Bros. acquisition

US antitrust regulators appear to be leaning toward approval of Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of rival Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a Semafor report.

The DOJ’s apparent positive analysis of the Hollywood megamerger follows a Tuesday meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ staffers including acting antitrust chief Omeed Assefi.

Per Semafor, that meeting included a significant number of questions about the would-be streaming giant’s theatrical release priorities. Ellison has pledged to release a “minimum” of 30 films for theaters between Paramount and WBD upon completion of the merger, and to maintain a 45-day theatrical window for films, followed by a three-month SVOD (digital rent or purchase) period before they land on Paramount+.

The DOJ has not yet approved the merger, and the agency’s current apparent analysis could shift.

It’s unclear what other topics were discussed at Tuesday’s meeting. Hollywood insiders critical of a Warner Bros. acquisition have also highlighted that any merger decreasing the number of content buyers would squeeze an already depressed entertainment labor market.

Exclusive: Paramount appears to sway DOJ staff on Warner Bros. takeover

Exclusive: Paramount appears to sway DOJ staff on Warner Bros. takeover

Per Semafor, that meeting included a significant number of questions about the would-be streaming giant’s theatrical release priorities. Ellison has pledged to release a “minimum” of 30 films for theaters between Paramount and WBD upon completion of the merger, and to maintain a 45-day theatrical window for films, followed by a three-month SVOD (digital rent or purchase) period before they land on Paramount+.

The DOJ has not yet approved the merger, and the agency’s current apparent analysis could shift.

It’s unclear what other topics were discussed at Tuesday’s meeting. Hollywood insiders critical of a Warner Bros. acquisition have also highlighted that any merger decreasing the number of content buyers would squeeze an already depressed entertainment labor market.

President Trump Hosts Crypto Summit At The White House

Report: White House AI oversight executive order DOA

After weeks of uncertainty, the White House’s plan to review frontier models before release appears dead.

Jon Keegan5/22/26
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Jon Keegan

Report: White House informed AI companies about plans for government to vet new models

After weeks of uncertainty about what role if any the White House would play in overseeing the release of new foundation models, this week top AI companies have been briefed on its plans, according to a new report from The Information.

The planned executive order describes a voluntary plan in which the National Security Agency, Office of the National Cyber Director, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will decide which models to review, per the report.

The plan is reportedly less strict than AI companies had feared, but it does call for a 90-day testing period before release, a window that is substantially longer than the 14-day window that the companies wanted.

The new order could be signed as soon as this week.

White House Briefs AI Companies on Plan to Review Models Before Release

White House Briefs AI Companies on Plan to Review Models Before Release

The planned executive order describes a voluntary plan in which the National Security Agency, Office of the National Cyber Director, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will decide which models to review, per the report.

The plan is reportedly less strict than AI companies had feared, but it does call for a 90-day testing period before release, a window that is substantially longer than the 14-day window that the companies wanted.

The new order could be signed as soon as this week.

power
Rani Molla

Pension leaders overseeing more than $1 trillion in assets call SpaceX’s corporate structure “extreme”

SpaceX is gearing up for what is expected to be the biggest IPO in history — a $75 billion raise at a record $1.75 trillion valuation. But some of Wall Street’s biggest whales aren’t happy with the plan.

Leaders from three of the largest US public pension systems — New York State, New York City, and California — sent a letter to CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday, calling out the company’s planned corporate structure as “extreme” and the “most management-favorable governance structure ever brought to the US public markets at ⁠this scale.”

Among their concerns: Musk’s inviolability since only he can remove himself as CEO, the elimination of class-action lawsuits, and a “Texas shield” that could require a staggering 3% of outstanding stock just to file a derivative suit.

While the group has requested a meeting with Musk, it’s not clear if the $1 trillion they oversee is enough to force Musk to entertain their demands. These funds may be caught in an “index trap.” As passive benchmark trackers, they’ll be forced to buy the stock once it lists, stripping them of any boycott leverage. And with a tiny ~5% float and the expected massive demand from retail and other investors, Musk may be able to ignore a few whales.

power
Rani Molla

Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Micron CEOs head to China with Trump

Executives from some of America’s biggest companies, including Apple, Tesla, and Boeing, are joining President Trump on his trip to China this week to help facilitate trade and investment between the countries. After a last-minute invite, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who was initially snubbed, is also part of a trip aimed, in part, at resolving a prolonged import-export standoff between China and the US regarding AI and semiconductor technology.

Meta President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick is also going. Recently China blew up one of Meta’s major AI bets by unwinding the company’s acquisition of AI agent startup Manus.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the group was journeying to China to ask President Xi to “‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level!”

He added, “I have never seen or heard of any idea that would be more beneficial to our incredible Countries!”

Here’s the full list of company executives, per Reuters:

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