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Anthropic has reached a stalemate with the United States Department of War over the military\u2019s request for unrestricted access<\/a> to the AI company\u2019s technology. But as the Pentagon\u2019s Friday afternoon deadline<\/a> for Anthropic\u2019s compliance approaches, more than 300 Google employees and over 60 OpenAI employees have signed an open letter<\/a> urging the leaders of their companies to support Anthropic and refuse this unilateral use.<\/p>\n Specifically, Anthropic stood in opposition to the use of AI for domestic mass surveillance and autonomous weaponry. The open letter\u2019s signatories seek to encourage their employers to \u201cput aside their differences and stand together\u201d to uphold the boundaries Anthropic has asserted.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re trying to divide each company with fear that the other will give in,\u201d the letter says. \u201cThat strategy only works if none of us know where the others stand.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter specifically calls on executives at Google and OpenAI to maintain Anthropic\u2019s red lines against mass surveillance and fully automated weaponry. \u201cWe hope our leaders will put aside their differences and stand together to continue to refuse the Department of War\u2019s current demands.\u201d<\/p>\n Leaders at the companies have not yet formally reponded to the letter. TechCrunch has reached out to Google and OpenAI for comment.<\/p>\n However, informal statements suggest both companies are sympathetic to Anthropic\u2019s side of the case. In an interview with CNBC on Friday morning, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said<\/a> that he doesn\u2019t \u201cpersonally think the Pentagon should be threatening DPA against these companies.\u201d According to a CNN reporter, an OpenAI spokesperson confirmed<\/a> that the company shares Anthropic\u2019s red lines against autonomous weapons and mass surveillance.<\/p>\n