Amazon and Its Approach to Trust: A Unique Method

June 22, 2026

Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.

I spotted an article in PC Mag. As a former beaver at the Damn Ziff in Manhattan, today’s PC Mag is different from the PC Magazine I knew. Despite the changes, “Amazon MGM Studios Dumps Upcoming OpenAI Movie” conveyed some allegedly actual factual information I found interesting.

Fresh in my mind was Amazon’s unclear role in getting its AI pal Anthropic banned. I interpreted the move as a the BAIT (big AI tech) company’s ratting out someone from a fourth grade class for bringing an Al Fakher hookah endorsed by Snoop Dogg to school for a show and tell. I think it is tough to hide a hookah in a fourth grade classroom, so the tattling does not accomplish much except publicity.

Now the delightful Amazon has inked a deal (allegedly) with OpenAI, a competitor to Anthropic. I assume Anthropic was ecstatic about Amazon’s murky role in the US government’s decision to ban certain Anthropic technology. This action, of course, would be ignored by Chinese AI developers who would never ever consider beefing up their AI models to match or exceed the bug sniffing capability of Anthropic’s Glasswing/Mythos/Fumble/whatever service. Perish that thought.

What’s clear is that Amazon finds OpenAI and its exemplary leader ideal for Amazon’s smart software craving. That’s okay. Partners in AI come and go more quickly than Google and Meta AI wizards job hop or surf for money on Sand Hill Road.

Thanks, MidJourney. Good enough.

The write up points out:

An upcoming movie based on the life of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been dropped by Amazon’s MGM Studios.

If this is indeed true, Amazon is adding another trophy to its AI championship belt. Last months, big gold emblem spelled out Anthropic. Now the big gold emblem says, “OpenAI.” The PC Mag story adds:

The news comes as Amazon became one of the ChatGPT firm’s biggest investors earlier this year. In February, Amazon announced it would invest $50 billion in OpenAI, starting with an initial $15 billion investment and followed by another $35 billion in the following months, pending certain conditions. The deal would see the tech giants partner on several projects, including Amazon Web Services becoming the exclusive third-party cloud distribution provider for OpenAI Frontier, one of its enterprise offerings.

I can imagine the thrill the people behind the alleged movie about Sam AI man experienced when the news began circulating.

I have a hypothesis about this murky affair, and it has several parts.

First, how do you break up or find a reason that sounds really good to walk away from a certain technology, person, or company? Why not jump on the bandwagon that blasts this message from loud speakers: “Anthropic’s code will raid on your next golf outing and probably your morning walk… forever.”

Second, how do you show your new AI partner that you love, respect, and honor that software? My thought is that one chokes off a movie that may put your new BFF in a less than flattering light.

Third, how do you avoid complex legal issues? Go back to the first point. The decision is little more than a way to allow a nearly completed film to find a better “production” partner. I assume that landing another outfit is trivial. However, if it is like the Hollywood I encountered when I did a teeny tiny project for a B movie mogul, Luca Guadagnino, the director will be working the phones 24×7.

Is my hypothesis reality? Of course not. Amazon would not play the national security card, make nice with Sam Altman, and effectively delay or doom a film about @sama.

Coincidences do happen. Does the PC Mag story inspire trust in Amazon. It sure does for me.

Stephen E Arnold, June 22, 2026

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under AI, Amazon, Business strategy, Management, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.