OpenAI unveils GPT‑6 Astra with expanded computer‑use and strict cybersecurity claims

The useful part

OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra, the company's newest AI model, is now available to a limited number of users after its unveiling yesterday (3 September). to all ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise users, as well as through the OpenAI API, Microsoft Azure and AWS Bedrock". The company said Astra is "the most capable model we have ever broadly deployed" and its first model to reach the 'critical' level of cybersecurity capability under its preparedness framework.

How it works

• Earlier this week, OpenAI's direct rival Anthropic launched the latest iterations of Claude Fable and Claude Mythos, which it described as "the world's most advanced models for coding and knowledge work".
• The company said Astra is "state-of-the-art on computer use, browsing, software engineering, cybersecurity, science and professional work", and that it can be used to "take care of tedious tasks", conduct...
• It is also described by its maker as "the best model for software engineering to date" and "a major advance for scientific discovery, mathematics and health".
• OpenAI president Greg Brockman told media publications in a briefing that Astra's launch could perhaps be viewed as the beginning of an era of artificial general intelligence.
• Alongside Astra, OpenAI yesterday also unveiled a new $1bn global initiative to "help frontline defenders use frontier AI cyber capabilities to protect essential services in the US and around the world".

What to take from it

'Daybreak for Frontline Defenders' will aim "to help frontline defenders protect essential services " by bolstering and supporting their training in and deployment of AI, the company said. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

Details worth keeping

The company said it will become available "over the coming days... The company added that the new model is "better-aligned" for "respecting safety and security boundaries and staying within its authorised scope" but less monitorable in tested "adversarial settings" than its predecessor, GPT‑5.6 Sol. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed.

Related coverage

• Dev: OpenAI has introduced GPT-6 Astra, a new generation of intelligence that is beginning with a limited rollout to organizations before expanding across ChatGPT and major cloud platforms.
• Fortune: OpenAI president Greg Brockman calls Astra "the start of the AGI era" even as outside experts worry about whether the company has effective safety and security controls in place.
• Fastcompany: "Welcome to the AGI era," said OpenAI president Greg Brockman at the tail end of a call with reporters about the Thursday release of the company's newest model, GPT-6 Astra.
• Venturebeat: The rumors were true, all of them (and then some): OpenAI today is releasing GPT-6 Astra, a new frontier model that the company says likely marks the onset of artificial generalized intelligence (AGI), its...