OpenAI’s defence partnership sparked debate about the military use of AI.
After the news, ChatGPT reportedly saw a sharp rise in uninstalls and a drop in downloads.
Anthropic declined a similar deal and its Claude app later topped Apple’s free app chart.
ChatGPT has been facing a lot of backlash online after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed that the company has reached an agreement with the United States Department of Defense to deploy its AI models within the classified systems. This has sparked widespread debate on the internet about the potential military use of artificial intelligence, as well as concerns about privacy and ethics. After a few days, ChatGPT reportedly experienced an increase in uninstalls and a decrease in downloads. The controversy also sparked criticism on social media and app stores, with hashtags like QuitGPT and Cancel ChatGPT trending widely. Here’s the complete story in five points.
Survey1. OpenAI’s defence partnership triggers controversy
It all started after reports surfaced that OpenAI had reached an agreement with the US Defence Department to deploy AI models within the Pentagon’s classified networks. The company stated that the partnership is for defensive purposes such as cybersecurity and intelligence analysis, but the development has raised concerns among some users about the potential use of artificial intelligence in military operations.
2. CEO confirms agreement with Pentagon
Later, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the agreement in post on social media, stating that the defence department has shown strong commitment for the safety and responsible use of technology. However, the announcement also intensified public debate, with critics asking whether AI companies should be partnering with military institutions at a time when global tensions remain high.
3. ChatGPT sees spike in uninstalls
After all this, ChatGPT reportedly experienced a surge in uninstall activity. As per the data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower indicated that uninstall rates increased by nearly 295 percent. This spike suggested that a section of users was reacting to the news strongly.
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4. Downloads decline and ratings drop
The backlash appeared to have an impact on the platform’s growth and user settlement. According to reports, app downloads fell by around 13% one day and 5% the next day. At the same time, ChatGPT received negative feedback, with one-star ratings increasing sharply and five-star ratings dropping significantly. Soon after, Anthropic’s Claude, which had previously denied a similar deal, rose to the top spot on Apple’s free app chart.
5. Anthropic refuses similar military deal
Right before this controversy happened, AI company Anthropic publicly declined the proposal to work with the US defence department. Its CEO Dario Amodei said that the AI company had concerns about the risks of AI driven mass surveillance and the potential development of autonomous weapons. He added that current frontier AI systems are not reliable enough to safely power such applications.
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Ashish Singh
Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile
