OpenAI Robotics Chief resigns
Caitlin Kalinowski, head of robotics and consumer hardware at OpenAI, resigned after the company signed a controversial agreement with the United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) to deploy its AI models on classified government networks.
Kalinowski said her decision was based on principle. She believed the deal was announced too quickly and lacked clear ethical guardrails, particularly regarding potential uses such as surveillance and autonomous weapons. She argued that issues like “surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight” and lethal autonomous systems required deeper discussion and oversight.
The agreement came after another AI company, Anthropic, refused similar Pentagon terms over concerns about mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.
In a follow-up post on X, Kalinowski added, “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.”
