San Francisco (United States) (AFP) – OpenAI on Wednesday said it was letting the US government use a version of ChatGPT designed for businesses for a year, charging just $1 for the service. Federal workers in the executive branch will have access to ChatGPT Enterprise in a partnership with the US General Services Administration, according to the pioneering San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) company.
“By giving government employees access to powerful, secure AI tools, we can help them solve problems for more people, faster,” OpenAI said in a blog post announcing the alliance. ChatGPT Enterprise does not use business data to train or improve OpenAI models, and the same rule will apply to federal use, according to the company.
Earlier this year, OpenAI announced an initiative focused on bringing advanced AI tools to US government workers. The news came with word that the US Department of Defense awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to put generative AI to work for the military. OpenAI planned to show how cutting-edge AI can improve administrative operations, such as how service members get health care, and also has cyber defense applications, the startup said in a post.
OpenAI has also launched an initiative to help countries build their own AI infrastructure, with the US government a partner in projects. The tech firm’s move to put its technology at the heart of national AI platforms around the world comes as it faces competition from Chinese rival DeepSeek. DeepSeek’s success in delivering powerful AI models at a lower cost has rattled Silicon Valley and multiplied calls for US big tech to protect its dominance of the emerging technology.
The OpenAI for Countries initiative was launched in June under the auspices of a drive — dubbed “Stargate” — announced by US President Donald Trump to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the United States. OpenAI, in “coordination” with the US government, will help countries build data centers and provide customized versions of ChatGPT, according to the tech firm. Projects are to involve “local as well as OpenAI capital.”
© 2024 AFP
