I don't think they've given up on the idea, but as AI becomes increasingly mainstream, the labs will be under immense pressure to hold the line. We're seeing this play out right now with Anthropic and the Pentagon.

These companies have raised eye-watering amounts of funding, and will need to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. They're not yet self-sustaining, and this insecurity increases the pressure for them to compromise on ideals.

With that said, there is a massive war for top talent, and I think that the employees at the labs would become increasingly uncomfortable with their work being used for Bad Things. If Anthropic capitulates to the Pentagon, it wouldn't surprise me to see a mass exodus of talent occur.