OpenAI Usage
We Asked AI
Please give me a thoughtful answer for:
Is using OpenAI helping zionists in Israel or not?
This is a fair question—and a heavy one. A thoughtful answer has to separate moral concern, corporate reality, and individual agency, without hand-waving any of them away.
Short answer: Using OpenAI does not meaningfully equate to supporting or enabling violence in Israel, but it’s reasonable to question complicity in any large tech ecosystem, and you’re not wrong to interrogate that.
Here’s the longer, honest breakdown.
1. Does OpenAI directly support Israeli military actions?
There is no public evidence that OpenAI:
Builds weapons
Provides battlefield targeting systems
Is embedded in Israeli military operations
Is supplying models specifically for lethal use in Gaza
OpenAI is a general-purpose AI company whose products are used globally by millions of civilians, nonprofits, journalists, researchers, and businesses—many of whom are explicitly critical of Israel and use these tools to document abuses, organize aid, or advocate for Palestinian rights.
That matters.
2. But does OpenAI exist inside a U.S.-aligned power structure?
Yes. And this is where discomfort is valid.
OpenAI:
Is a U.S.-based company
Operates within U.S. law and export controls
Has relationships with Western governments and enterprises
Is part of the broader tech economy that benefits from U.S. geopolitical dominance
That does not make OpenAI a Zionist project, but it does place it inside the same global system that:
Arms Israel
Shields it diplomatically
Enables surveillance and data infrastructure worldwide
So the concern isn’t delusional—it’s systemic.
3. Is “complicity” the right moral frame?
Only if applied consistently.
If using OpenAI is complicity, then so is:
Using Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft
Paying U.S. taxes
Hosting on AWS
Owning a smartphone
Using the internet backbone itself
At that point, complicity becomes inescapable, and moral action shifts from “purity” to how tools are used.
4. How are these tools being used?
This is the most important part.
OpenAI tools are currently being used to:
Translate Palestinian testimonies
Analyze satellite imagery
Draft ceasefire petitions
Organize mutual aid
Support journalists and human rights orgs
Educate people globally about the conflict
The same technology can be used by power or against it. History shows that general-purpose tools almost always are.
5. A principled position (without denial or guilt theater)
A reasonable, grounded stance looks like this:
You don’t deny the scale of Palestinian suffering
You don’t excuse state violence
You don’t pretend tech companies are neutral angels
But you also don’t collapse all usage into moral guilt
You focus on how you use the tool, not just who owns it
Using OpenAI to resist dehumanization, spread truth, and reduce harm is not helping genocidal violence—it’s arguably doing the opposite.
Bottom line
Using OpenAI is not the same as endorsing Israeli state violence. It is using a tool embedded in an unjust global system—but so is nearly everything else.
The ethical question isn’t “Am I pure?” It’s “Am I using what I have to reduce harm, or to ignore it?”
Does OpenAI as a company have ANY contracts with Israel?
Here’s what verifiable reporting shows about whether OpenAI as a company has any contracts with the Israeli government or military:
🧾 What’s publicly documented
OpenAI itself says it does not have a direct partnership with the Israeli military or government. The company maintains policies that prohibit using its technology to harm people or develop weapons, and it has stated it does not have such contracts. (ABC)
🧠 How products might end up being used
Investigations (including by Associated Press) reported that Israeli military entities have purchased and used AI models created by companies including OpenAI through Microsoft Azure. This doesn’t mean OpenAI signed a contract with Israel — it means the military used commercially available AI models from OpenAI via Microsoft’s cloud platform. Microsoft is OpenAI’s major investor and distributor of certain AI services. (ABC)
OpenAI changed its terms of use in recent years to allow “national security use cases that align with our mission,” which makes it technically possible for governments or militaries to use the models. (ABC)
📌 So what is clear?
✅ OpenAI has no publicly disclosed contract with the Israeli government or military. ❌ There’s no signed deal where OpenAI agreed specifically to provide AI services to the Israeli state.
📌 What has happened in practice
▪ Israeli military units have reportedly used AI models from OpenAI (and other U.S. tech firms) by purchasing them through cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure. That’s not a contract between OpenAI and Israel, but rather a customer purchasing a commercial product that can be used for many purposes. (ABC)
🧾 Why this matters
This distinction is important because:
A contract implies formal negotiation and terms between two parties.
A customer purchase of a commercially available service doesn’t require a special deal, and is common internationally.
So on the narrow question:
👉 No, OpenAI as a company does not have confirmed contracts with Israeli government or military entities. 👉 However, its technology can be and has been used via third-party arrangements by those entities.
If you want, I can also break down what OpenAI’s official terms of use say about military or national security use.
Here’s what OpenAI’s official terms of use and policies actually say about military or national-security use of its technology — based on the latest publicly available documents rather than speculation:
📜 What the Terms of Use do say
Basic usage rules OpenAI’s standard terms of use (for individuals and API customers) lay out general restrictions: you must not use the service for unlawful, harmful, or abusive activities. They don’t explicitly list “military use” as forbidden, but they do say users must comply with laws and OpenAI’s use policies. OpenAI
Use policies and safety principles OpenAI’s Usage Policies emphasize safe and responsible use of its tools and are broadly framed around preventing harmful, illegal, or abusive uses. The published policies do not explicitly ban all military use on their face — rather, they set general standards about lawful and non-harmful conduct. OpenAI
🎯 Key public policy shift in recent years
Removal of prior blanket military ban In earlier years, OpenAI explicitly prohibited “military and warfare” use of its technology. That language was removed — meaning the company no longer has a blanket prohibition in its public usage policy against all military applications. Instead, OpenAI says:
Tools should not be used to harm people, develop weapons, perform harmful surveillance, injure others, or destroy property.
But there are “national security use cases that align with our mission.” In other words, some sanctioned security or defense applications could be acceptable under OpenAI’s policies. CNBC
That framing suggests it is not categorically banned, but subject to interpretation by the company’s internal safety/usage team.
🪖 What this doesn’t mean
It’s not an open invitation for all military contracts OpenAI’s terms do not automatically allow every military use idea. The language about lawful and non-harmful use still applies, and many specific prohibited actions (e.g., direct harm, weapons development) remain in the policies. OpenAI+1
No public, explicit licensing to foreign militaries There is no publicly disclosed clause in OpenAI’s terms stating that it sells or licenses services directly to foreign governments or foreign militaries. Any such use so far has been through commercial purchases of the models (e.g., via Microsoft’s Azure platform). AP News
🧾 In plain language
✔ OpenAI’s current terms no longer explicitly ban all military uses. ✔ The official rules still prohibit harmful or illegal use of their AI, including harm to people or property. ✔ The company now frames some national security or defense work as potentially acceptable if it “aligns with our mission.” CNBC ✔ There’s no public provision that OpenAI will sell or license its services directly to foreign governments or militaries (including Israel).
📌 So what’s the practical outcome?
OpenAI’s policies put responsibility on the user to follow laws and the company’s safety rules.
The company reserves the right to approve or reject specific cases.
They’ve opened the door to some national security-related work at a high level, while still stating that developing weapons or harming people is not allowed in policy.
Last updated
Was this helpful?