Caitlin Kalinowski, the hardware and robotic engineering team leader at OpenAI, said Saturday she is leaving the company, writing in a social media post her choice “was about principle” after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman struck a deal with the Department of Defense to use its technology in military operations.
Kalinowski, who was hired in 2024 from Meta, said on X her decision wasn’t easy: “AI has an important role in national security. But surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization are lines that deserved more deliberation than they got.”
Her decision comes as OpenAI said this week its technology could support defense-related work including cybersecurity, intelligence analysis and logistics, areas the military sees as critical applications for AI.
The deal has drawn criticism from some OpenAI employees and AI researchers, who warn that expanding artificial intelligence into military operations raises risks around surveillance and autonomous weapons.
The partnership between OpenAI and the Department of Defense comes after the Trump administration moved away from working with Anthropic, which the Pentagon formally labeled a supply chain risk.
Kalinowski said on X her issue with OpenAI’s announcement was that it was rushed, writing that it was made “without the guardrails defined.”
