OpenAI is releasing a new generation of its technology called GPT-6 that the company is positioning as a key milestone in its decade-long push to build so-called artificial general intelligence.
The startup said Thursday that it has rolled out GPT-6 Astra to business users that are in its Daybreak program, which lets approved testers use its most capable models. Separately, the company announced plans Thursday to expand a program offering subsidized access to its Daybreak cybersecurity program for utilities, local governments and financial institutions.
As part of the effort to address growing concerns about the risks of AI-powered hacking campaigns, OpenAI also said it would launch an information-sharing initiative spanning multiple states. OpenAI also plans to release a version of the AI model with added cybersecurity guardrails to its paid ChatGPT users. Both versions have safeguards to prevent users from accessing its most cutting-edge cybersecurity capabilities. The security push, unveiled by Brockman at a conference, follows a spate of attacks on water systems where OpenAI stepped in to offer affected states and utilities credits to use its models and other technical assistance.
OpenAI President Greg Brockman said in a briefing that he thinks the new model will one day be seen as the early stages of artificial general intelligence, referring to software that outperforms humans at a wide range of tasks. The concept has emerged as a central ambition for much of the AI industry, though there is no generally agreed-upon definition for AGI and many remain skeptical of it.
OpenAI and Anthropic have been locked in a heated battle to develop more advanced AI systems while balancing growing concerns about safety, particularly following a series of security incidents involving their technologies. An inadvertent hack carried out by OpenAI models on Hugging Face in July ignited concerns about AI agents running amok and prompted some technology and government leaders to renew calls for curbs on the technology.
