It is not often you see a tech CEO take to social media to call their own business move “opportunistic and sloppy,” but that is exactly where we find ourselves this week. The fallout from the OpenAI Department of War deal has moved beyond simple internet grumbling and into the territory of a genuine consumer revolt. If you have been looking at the data coming out of Sensor Tower, the numbers are staggering.
In the United States, ChatGPT uninstall rates have spiked by a massive 295 percent over the last few days. To put that in plain English, nearly three times as many people as usual are scrubbing the app from their phones.
The controversy centers on OpenAI’s decision to step in and sign a defense contract after their main rival, Anthropic, walked away from the table. While Anthropic cited a lack of safety safeguards, OpenAI moved quickly to fill the void. Now, Sam Altman is in full damage control mode, admitting that the company rushed the announcement and handled the optics poorly.
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Altman attempts to redefine the rules
In an effort to stem the bleeding, Sam Altman has been active on social media trying to clarify what this partnership actually looks like. One of the biggest changes is a specific tweak to the contract language. The agreement now explicitly states that ChatGPT powered systems at the Department of War shall not be intentionally used for domestic surveillance of US persons and nationals.
This is a direct response to the AI domestic surveillance concerns that have been at the center of the backlash. However, critics are quick to point out that Altman has remained largely silent on the issue of fully autonomous weapons. For many users, the distinction between a “surveillance tool” and a “combat tool” is a thin line they aren’t willing to cross.
Altman has tried to project a principled stance, even claiming he would rather go to jail than follow an unconstitutional order, but the 295 percent jump in ChatGPT uninstall rates suggests that users are not waiting around to see if he keeps his word.
The Claude migration is in full swing
While OpenAI is dealing with a mass exodus, Anthropic is reaping the rewards. The timing could not be better for the developer of Claude. As people ditch ChatGPT, they are heading straight for the competition. Sensor Tower reports that Claude installs were up 37 percent last Friday and jumped another 51 percent on Saturday
This isn’t just a small bump in numbers. The Claude App Store ranking has hit the top of the charts in the US, making it the primary beneficiary of OpenAI’s PR nightmare. To keep that momentum going, Anthropic has also just made its chat memory feature available for all users, not just those on the paid tiers. It is a classic “good timing” move that makes the switch from one AI to another feel much more seamless for the average user.
A bad decision for government agencies
Interestingly, Altman isn’t just defending his own company; he is also calling out the US government. He has described the directive to freeze out Anthropic and Claude from official agencies as a “very bad decision.” It is a bit of a surreal moment in tech journalism to see a CEO secure a massive government contract and then immediately tell the government they were wrong to exclude his competitor.
Altman claims he wants to work through democratic processes, but the speed at which this deal was signed on a Friday afternoon tells a different story. By his own admission, the rollout was rushed. For a company that once prided itself on being a non profit focused on the benefit of humanity, the pivot toward high stakes military contracts feels like a departure that many long term fans cannot stomach.
