The Trump Administration is requesting OpenAI limit its upcoming GPT 5.6 model release to a select group of government-approved partners, citing advanced cybersecurity capabilities that officials fear could pose unprecedented safety risks.
OpenAI agreed to the restriction as a conditional pathway toward eventual public launch, exposing a fundamental problem that the US lacks any transparent regulatory framework for AI model oversight.
According to a memo by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared with employees on Thursday, the government is now granting approval to each company “customer by customer”.
The White House stated that the GPT 5.6 model of OpenAI has capabilities similar to Anthropic’s Mythos model, which was withdrawn from the commerce department in mid-June due to cybersecurity concerns.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman conveyed displeasure over the process, stating: “We’ve made clear to the US government that this is not our preferred long-term model and will work with them and others in industry to achieve a more sustainable approach for future releases”.
An executive order was signed by President Donald Trump last month requiring AI companies to provide advanced models for 30 days of governmental review prior to release. However, the mechanism has yet to be set up.
Public First Head Brad Carson, a bipartisan pro-AI safety super PAC, told CNN: “Right now, you have an ad hoc, personalised, opaque, possibly lawless approach. It is certainly appropriate for the government to recall dangerous products, including AI models, but it has to be done in a way consistent with transparency and basic fairness”.