OpenAI’s robotics lead says she is stepping down from the company over concerns about how AI could be used in national security systems.
In a new post on X, OpenAI’s robotics head Caitlin Kalinowski says she has resigned from the company, noting the decision was driven by concerns over governance and safeguards surrounding AI deployment.
She says AI could play an important role in national defense, but warns that some applications require stronger oversight.
“I resigned from OpenAI. I care deeply about the Robotics team and the work we built together. This wasn’t an easy call. AI has an important role in national security. But surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization are lines that deserve more deliberation than they got.”
Kalinowski highlights that her decision is based on principles and focuses on how quickly certain announcements or agreements were made before safeguards were fully defined.
“This was about principle, not people. I have deep respect for Sam and the team, and I’m proud of what we built together. To be clear, my issue is that the announcement was rushed without the guardrails defined. It’s a governance concern first and foremost. These are too important for deals or announcements to be rushed.”
In late February, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was summoned by the Pentagon to loosen its AI model’s guardrails for the Department of Defense. Anthropic and Amodei were primarily concerned about the use of Claude for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.
While Anthropic stood its ground, Sam Altman swooped in to forge a deal with the Department of War. Altman admitted that he mishandled the initial announcement and moved to add civil liberties guardrails following public backlash.
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