"At the start of 2024, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and OpenAI were united against military use of their AI tools. But over the next 12 months, something changed. In January, OpenAI quietly rescinded its ban on using AI for "military and warfare" purposes, and soon after it was reported to be working on "a number of projects" with the Pentagon."
"In November, in the same week that Donald Trump was reelected US president, Meta announced that the United States and select allies would be able to employ Llama for defense uses. A few days later, Anthropic announced that it too would allow its models to be used by the military and that it was partnering with the defense firm Palantir. As the year ended, OpenAI announced its own partnership with the defense startup Anduril."
"Finally, in February 2025, Google revised its AI principles to allow for the development and use of weapons and technologies that might harm people. Over the course of a single year, worries about the existential risks of AGI had virtually disappeared, and the military use of AI had been normalized. Part of the change has to do with the immense costs involved in building these models. Research on general-purpose technologies (the other GPTs) has often highlighted the importance of the defense sector as a way to overcome issues of adoption."
Major AI companies shifted from collective bans to permitting military uses between 2024 and early 2025. OpenAI rescinded its ban and engaged in Pentagon projects; Meta enabled Llama for US and allied defense use; Anthropic partnered with Palantir and allowed military use; OpenAI partnered with Anduril; Google revised principles to permit development and use of weapons. The normalization coincided with reduced public concern about AGI existential risks. Economic pressures drove the shift, as defense offers large, patient funding and adoption channels. Defense contracting's soft budgets and long-term nature make it an attractive customer for costly AI development.
Read at WIRED
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