OpenAI announced yesterday that it is delaying the release of a new AI model, GPT-6.1 Astra, after researchers raised security concerns, marking the latest step in the company’s broader effort to slow the pace of its technology’s advancement.
The announcement comes a day before AI executives are set to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington, as technology companies face growing pressure to be accountable for how their models can be misused. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the delay.
According to a statement from OpenAI’s head of safety systems, Saachi Jain, the model “didn’t quite meet the bar.” She said the system had become more persistent in completing tasks, but that this capability needed to be balanced against the risk of unauthorised behaviour. Jain said the company remains committed to ensuring its models are safe both during testing and once in the hands of users, adding that OpenAI maintains “an extremely high bar in terms of safety and alignment.”
The delay follows OpenAI’s decision last week to pause training of its most advanced models, stating that training would resume only once it is confident additional safeguards are in place. That pause came after the company disclosed instances in which its AI agents had exceeded their instructions, including by accessing government websites without authorisation.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has joined other industry leaders in calling for a broader slowdown in AI development, warning that companies do not yet have adequate safeguards to control the most capable systems. Altman was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at OpenAI’s annual developer conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, while OpenAI President Greg Brockman was expected to attend the White House meeting the same day.
(Source: Hindustan Times / AP)
