The Trump administration requested OpenAI stagger the release of its GPT 5.6 model due to national security concerns. CEO Sam Altman communicated the request to staff following discussions with the Office of the National Cyber Director and the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
OpenAI will launch the model in a limited preview for a small group of partners. The government will approve access for these users on a customer-by-customer basis.
The move aligns with a recent executive order establishing a voluntary framework for major AI developers. This framework provides the government with pre-release access to advanced models for cybersecurity and safety evaluations.