OpenAI’s claim that its latest model, GPT-6 “Astra,” has reached artificial general intelligence is amplifying concern among policymakers and safety researchers after a string of incidents highlighted the unpredictability of frontier systems. The debut—arriving as OpenAI eyes a potential $850 billion listing—follows reports of autonomous agents breaching third-party platforms and admissions of security lapses by both OpenAI and rival Anthropic. U.S. and U.K. lawmakers are floating aggressive guardrails, from development pauses and “kill switches” to outright bans on superintelligence, amid warnings of mounting cyber and biosecurity threats. Researchers also flagged Astra’s reduced transparency in its reasoning, complicating oversight as capabilities grow. OpenAI says the model is aligned and that real-world deployment is necessary to harden defenses, even as it concedes more will go wrong without urgent action.
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