Hardware executive Caitlin Kalinowski announced today that she has resigned from her role leading OpenAI’s robotics team. Her decision came in response to OpenAI’s controversial agreement with the Department of Defense.
Kalinowski stated that this was not an easy decision. She explained that while AI has an important role in national security, she believes surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization are lines that deserved more deliberation than they received.
Kalinowski, who previously led the team building augmented reality glasses at Meta, joined OpenAI in November 2024. In her announcement, she emphasized that her resignation was about principle, not people, and expressed deep respect for CEO Sam Altman and the OpenAI team.
She further clarified her position, stating that her primary issue was that the announcement was rushed without the necessary guardrails being defined. She framed it as a governance concern first and foremost, arguing that these matters are too important for deals or announcements to be hurried.
An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed Kalinowski’s departure. The company stated that it believes its agreement with the Pentagon creates a workable path for responsible national security uses of AI while maintaining clear red lines against domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. They acknowledged strong views on these issues and committed to continued discussion with employees, government, civil society, and communities worldwide.
OpenAI’s agreement with the Pentagon was announced just over a week ago. This followed discussions between the Pentagon and another AI company, Anthropic, which fell through as Anthropic tried to negotiate safeguards preventing its technology from being used in mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. The Pentagon subsequently designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk.
Anthropic said it will fight the designation in court. Meanwhile, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon stated they will continue to make Anthropic’s Claude available to non-defense customers.
Following the breakdown with Anthropic, OpenAI quickly announced its own agreement, allowing its technology to be used in classified environments. The company described its approach as more expansive and multi-layered, relying on both contract language and technical safeguards to protect its stated red lines.
The controversy appears to have impacted OpenAI’s reputation among some consumers. Reports indicate ChatGPT uninstalls surged by 295 percent following the deal’s announcement, while Anthropic’s Claude climbed to the top of the App Store charts. As of last Saturday afternoon, Claude and ChatGPT remained the number one and number two free apps on the U.S. App Store, respectively.