We believe a democratic vision for AI is essential to unlocking its full potential and ensuring its benefits are broadly shared. AI is a transformational technology that can be used to strengthen democratic values or to undermine them. That’s why we believe democracies should continue to take the lead in AI development, guided by values like freedom, fairness, and respect for human rights. And it’s why we think countries that share these values should understand how, with the proper safeguards, AI can help protect people, deter adversaries, and even prevent future conflict.

There are important national security use cases that align with our mission. For example, we already collaborate with DARPA⁠(opens in a new window) to help cyber defenders better protect critical networks. We also work with the U.S. Agency for International Development⁠(opens in a new window), which is using ChatGPT to reduce administrative burdens for staff. We also see opportunities to deepen our collaboration with the U.S. National Laboratories, building on our bioscience research partnership⁠ with Los Alamos National Laboratory.

At the same time, we need clear guardrails and policies around how AI can be used. That’s why we’re taking a careful, measured approach to our national security partnerships.

OpenAI’s usage policies⁠ prohibit anyone from using our technology to harm people, destroy property, or develop weapons. Over the past several months, we’ve also developed a framework for assessing potential national security partnerships—including a set of values to guide this work. Each potential use case is evaluated through a formal process led by our Product Policy and National Security teams for alignment with both our policies and our values.