San Francisco: OpenAI is set to publicly release its most advanced artificial intelligence model, GPT-5.6, after postponing the launch last month at the request of the US government over national security concerns.
The delay came during growing scrutiny of powerful AI systems and fears that frontier models could be exploited for sophisticated cyberattacks or misused by foreign military and intelligence agencies.
The United States has intensified oversight of advanced AI releases as competition with China accelerates in the race to develop next-generation artificial intelligence. Policymakers are increasingly concerned that highly capable AI models could be used to target critical infrastructure or strengthen the cyber capabilities of rival nations.
According to reports, the Trump administration approved the wider release of GPT-5.6 after OpenAI completed additional safety testing and held discussions with government officials.
Before the public rollout, the company limited access to a small group of vetted partners whose identities were shared with US authorities.
2 affordable AI models
OpenAI also announced that it will introduce two additional models alongside GPT-5.6. The flagship model, GPT-5.6 Sol, will be joined by the more affordable Terra and Luna models, expanding the company’s portfolio of AI systems for different use cases.
The launch comes as governments worldwide tighten oversight of advanced AI technologies. Earlier this year, the US issued export controls that temporarily restricted access to Anthropic’s advanced AI models over national security concerns.
Those restrictions were eased after the company implemented additional safeguards, although some models remain available only to selected US organisations.
US President Donald Trump has also signed an executive order establishing a voluntary framework allowing AI developers to provide certain frontier AI models to the US government for review for up to 30 days before they are released to trusted partners.
Meanwhile, AI competition continues to intensify. Billionaire Elon Musk announced that his company has also made its latest flagship model, Grok 4.5, available to the public. The rapid pace of AI development has heightened concerns in both Washington and Beijing over the technology’s potential military and cybersecurity applications.
Chinese authorities have reportedly discussed restricting overseas access to the country’s most advanced AI models, while experts continue to warn that increasingly powerful systems could dramatically accelerate sophisticated cyberattacks.
Despite ongoing efforts to improve AI safety, experts acknowledge that completely preventing misuse remains a major challenge. Anthropic has previously stated that making any AI model entirely resistant to jailbreaks is ‘probably impossible,’ underscoring the continuing debate over balancing innovation with security.
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