There Was Simply an Unusually Unsettling Pentagon-Associated Resignation at OpenAI

It in all probability is not going to shock you to be taught that somebody simply resigned from OpenAI and trumpeted their causes far and vast on social media. You won’t have even heard of Caitlin Kalinowski earlier than this second, and her online statement, which reads partly “I’ve deep respect for Sam and the workforce, and I’m pleased with what we constructed collectively,” doesn’t, in and of itself, make for riveting studying materials.

Amid the corporate’s high-profile cope with the Pentagon that CEO Sam Altman acknowledged “appeared opportunistic and sloppy,” it ought to come as no shock that some workers are turned off. OpenAI’s rival, Anthropic, appears to be taking a victory lap, raking in record revenue after having efficiently marketed itself as the AI company that wants to protect the world from mass surveillance and autonomous killer robots. 

I point out all this due to Kalinowski’s particular function: she was the chief of the corporate’s robotics division.

I resigned from OpenAI. I care deeply in regards to the Robotics workforce and the work we constructed collectively. This wasn’t a straightforward name. AI has an necessary function in nationwide safety. However surveillance of Individuals with out judicial oversight and deadly autonomy with out human authorization are…

— Caitlin Kalinowski (@kalinowski007) March 7, 2026

So when Kalinowski says in her assertion that “deadly autonomy with out human authorization” deserved extra deliberation than it bought, she a minimum of speaks with some data of what sorts of AI-powered robots OpenAI has in thoughts.

In accordance with a Wired report from last year, nameless leakers revealed that OpenAI had been looking for to rent humanoid robotic specialists, or a minimum of specialists in robots with partially human-inspired designs. It was additionally working towards creating AI algorithms that may “make sense of the bodily world” and looking for to “empower robots to navigate and carry out duties.”

Robotics-related job adverts on the OpenAI web site tend to begin with the line “Our Robotics workforce is concentrated on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing in the direction of AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings.” 

That’s to not say any of OpenAI’s objectives in robotics have been achieved, however when the particular person answerable for probably the most Terminator-like expertise at your organization leaves, and strongly implies that it’s as a result of management was a little bit too cozy with a guy who calls himself the Secretary of War, which may fairly be thought of a second for these within the C-suite to do some soul-searching.