"It's Not About the Salary... What OpenAI's Senior Executive Said Upon Resigning"

About a week after OpenAI signed an artificial intelligence (AI) contract with the U.S. Department of Defense, Caitlyn Kalinowski, head of the robotics division, announced that she would be leaving the company.

According to a report by Yonhap News on the 7th (local time), citing U.S. political media outlet Politico and others, Caitlyn Kalinowski, who was leading OpenAI's next-generation core business, abruptly expressed her intention to resign as the head of the robotics division.

Caitlyn Kalinowski. X

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Kalinowski announced her resignation via the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), pointing out that surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and the issue of autonomous lethal systems without human approval require much more in-depth discussion. She also raised concerns that the contract was rushed before sufficient safeguards and decision-making structures were put in place.

The controversy originated from the agreement OpenAI made with the U.S. Department of Defense on February 27. OpenAI agreed to deploy its AI models on the Department of Defense's classified cloud network, and later explained that additional safeguards were incorporated into the contract. The company stated that its technology is subject to a so-called "prohibited uses" policy, which bans deployment for mass surveillance within the United States, control of autonomous weapon systems, or critical automated decision-making.

Previously, the AI startup Anthropic had provided its AI model "Claude" to the Department of Defense, but faced serious ethical conflicts with demands from the Donald Trump administration for unlimited military use. Anthropic opposed comprehensive civilian surveillance and the use of fully autonomous weapon systems, and in an unusual move, the Department of Defense labeled Anthropic as a "supply chain risk" company and notified it of its removal.

After disclosing the contract, OpenAI stated, "Our red line against domestic surveillance and the development of autonomous lethal weapons is clear," adding, "At the same time, we are working to establish responsible pathways for the use of AI in national security."

As the backlash grew, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, announced on March 2 that a clause restricting domestic surveillance would be added to the Department of Defense contract in an effort to address concerns.

However, this has not been enough to reverse the worsening public sentiment. The deletion rate of the ChatGPT app has surged within a single day, and disgruntled users have continued to leave one-star reviews on app stores, fueling ongoing backlash. According to a report by TechCrunch citing market research firm Sensor Tower, the number of ChatGPT app deletions in the U.S. soared by 295% within a day of the contract announcement, with one-star ratings increasing by 775%. During the same period, Anthropic's Claude app rose to the top spot among free apps on the U.S. App Store.

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