OpenAI delays October release of Astra 6.1 due to safety, alignment concerns

GPT-6.1 Astra is postponed until OpenAI can fix alignment and authorization issues. (Picture: generated)
With DevDay around the corner on September 29, promising «20+ releases» in one day, AI followers were getting giddy at the thought of a new OpenAI model, but this now seems off for a while.

Several outlets are now reporting that the scheduled October release of GPT-6.1-Astra has been postponed due to safety and misalignment issues.

The model reportedly had problems «staying within scope,» «authorization» and «communicating» about its work, Saachi Jain, OpenAI’s head of safety systems said in a statement shown to CNN.

— Of course we want to make sure our model development is safe ​no matter whether that’s in the company, or when we ​ship it ⁠to users, Jain tells Reuters, — But when we ship it to users, we have an extremely high bar in terms of safety and alignment.

According to The Wall Street Journal, GPT-6.1 showed elevated levels of deception, and did not always disclose actions it had taken, which was worrying enough to postpone its release.

Read more: The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, CNN, and Reuters.