The Trump administration has asked OpenAI to limit the initial release of GPT-5.6 to a small group of government-approved partners, as federal officials evaluate the model under a new testing framework for advanced AI systems. This marks the second U.S. government intervention this month to restrict a frontier AI model's release, following an order to Anthropic to suspend public access to Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 over national security concerns. The request, reported by The Information and Axios, was driven by GPT-5.6's capabilities similar to Anthropic's Mythos. It follows President Trump's executive order directing federal agencies to establish a voluntary testing framework for advanced AI systems. The move reflects a shift as AI developers like OpenAI and Anthropic have long called for government oversight. Industry critics warn that such targeted interventions could lead to regulatory capture, favoring large companies over competitors.

Key facts

• Trump admin asked OpenAI to restrict GPT-5.6 release to government-approved partners.
• Federal officials will evaluate the model under a new AI testing framework.
• This is the second US government intervention on frontier AI models this month.
• OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google have advocated for government AI oversight.
• Critics warn of potential regulatory capture favoring large AI developers.