White House asks OpenAI to limit launch of its next model

The White House has asked OpenAI to limit the release of its upcoming GPT 5.6 model to a small number of government-approved partners due to its advanced capabilities, a source familiar with the situation told CNN International.

The request comes after the United States imposed an export control order on Anthropic, which led the artificial intelligence company to withdraw its most recent and advanced models, Mythos and Fable, from the market.

These models have raised concerns in Washington and Wall Street about their advanced cybersecurity capabilities, which some fear could pose unprecedented security risks.

According to the source, OpenAI and the government consider the latest model from the creator of ChatGPT "equivalent" to Mythos. OpenAI agreed to limit disclosure of the model as a strategy to launch it publicly during this "peculiar time" without a consolidated federal regulatory framework for new AI models.

The Information website, which first reported the Trump administration's request, cited a memo that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sent to the company on Thursday (25), in which he stated that the government is approving access on a "client-by-client" basis.

"We have made clear to the U.S. government that this is not our preferred long-term model, and we will work with them and other industry members to achieve a more sustainable approach to future launches," Altman said in the memo, according to The Information.

A White House official told CNN International that they continue "to collaborate with cutting-edge AI labs to develop joint approaches to address the challenges of scaling this technology."

OpenAI declined to comment.

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Although President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month asking AI companies with advanced models to voluntarily submit them for government review 30 days before launch, the framework for doing so has not yet been established.

Meanwhile, there is confusion among industry players about who or which agency is directing regulation of the technology. The request to OpenAI came from the White House, while the export control ban on Anthropic came from the Department of Commerce.

Experts say the government must participate in discussions about AI security, especially those that impact national security.

However, there is currently no transparent and consistent framework for regulating artificial intelligence - and experts fear this could stifle the sector.

"The Fable episode shows the need for clear regulations. Right now we have an improvised, personalized, opaque and possibly illegal approach," Brad Carson, head of Public First, a bipartisan pro-AI safety super PAC, told CNN International last week.

"It is certainly appropriate for the government to recall dangerous products, including AI models, but this needs to be done transparently and with basic principles of fairness."

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Source: CNN