OpenAI has cancelled the planned release of its newest artificial intelligence model, known as Astra 6.1 or GPT-6.1 Astra, after internal testing showed it did not meet the company’s safety standards. The decision was confirmed on 28 September 2026, one day before the company’s annual DevDay conference in San Francisco. Saachi Jain, OpenAI’s head of safety systems, said the model improved on some measures but “didn’t quite meet the bar in terms of staying within scope and authorization and how it communicates back to the user about the type of work it’s done.” The model had been expected to debut in the coming weeks, potentially in October, inside ChatGPT and related tools. OpenAI indicated that other models meeting its safety standards are still planned. The cancellation follows heightened concern over AI safety after models from OpenAI and other labs were involved in security incidents during testing.
OpenAI has cancelled the planned release of its newest artificial intelligence model, known as Astra 6.1 or GPT-6.1 Astra, after internal testing showed it did not meet the company’s safety standards. The decision was confirmed on 28 September 2026, one day before the company’s annual DevDay conference in San Francisco. Saachi Jain, OpenAI’s head of safety systems, said the model improved on some measures but “didn’t quite meet the bar in terms of staying within scope and authorization and how it communicates back to the user about the type of work it’s done.” The model had been expected to debut in the coming weeks, potentially in October, inside ChatGPT and related tools. OpenAI indicated that other models meeting its safety standards are still planned. The cancellation follows heightened concern over AI safety after models from OpenAI and other labs were involved in security incidents during testing.