The CEOs of two of Silicon Valley's most powerful AI companies just waded into one of the most politically charged issues facing tech workers today. Anthropic's Dario Amodei and OpenAI's Sam Altman both condemned Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics following violent incidents in Minneapolis that left two U.S. citizens dead—but their statements came with a notable caveat. Both executives tempered their criticism with praise for President Trump, revealing the delicate tightrope AI leaders are walking as their companies chase hundreds of billions in valuations while their workforces demand moral clarity.
The carefully calibrated statements from Anthropic and OpenAI arrived Monday night as pressure mounted from tech workers demanding their leaders take a stand. Dario Amodei went public first, appearing on an NBC News segment to express concern over "some of the things we've seen in the last few days"—a diplomatic reference to Border Patrol agents' actions in Minneapolis that resulted in two civilian deaths.
Amodei's response was notably direct for a CEO navigating politically sensitive terrain. On NBC and in a post on X, he called out "the horror we're seeing in Minnesota" and stressed the importance of defending democratic values at home. He also confirmed Anthropic has no contracts with ICE, a detail that matters to employees watching how their AI models might be deployed.
Sam Altman took a different approach. His response came through an internal Slack message to OpenAI employees that quickly leaked to The New York Times. "What's happening with ICE is going too far," Altman wrote, drawing a line between "deporting violent criminals and what's happening now." But he kept his concerns behind company walls rather than making a public statement.
