OpenAI just held back its newest model.
Astra 6.1 was ready to ship, and Sam Altman stopped it because it failed the company’s own safety bar.
It happened in the same weeks in which OpenAI:
launched Dots, a personal agent Altman calls his favorite product ever
paused a training run because capabilities were moving faster than its safety work
started preparing for an IPO, with a nonprofit still in control
Where is it all going?
Altman answered in two long conversations with Vanity Fair’s Mark Guiducci, recorded three weeks apart in San Francisco. He went through what OpenAI will build next, what will slow it down, how AI will be regulated and where he expects the first big breakthroughs.
📚 In this newsletter, I break down Sam Altman’s plan for OpenAI and where he sees AI heading next, so you can see the direction of the market before you build on it. Every chapter comes with a clip from the interview.
High-signal analysis on markets, capital and the companies shaping the next decade
Inside you will find:
Why Altman Says AGI Is Close See what OpenAI saw coming ten years ago and why the world still looks almost the same.
How Personal Agents Like Dots Will Run Your Work Find out how Altman uses his own agent and what OpenAI is building next.
Why OpenAI Is Slowing Down Its Most Capable Models Learn why Astra 6.1 was delayed and why safety testing now starts during training.
Why OpenAI Wants AI in Everyone’s Hands See the two ways Altman thinks AI can go wrong and the position OpenAI takes between them.
The Wave of Cyberattacks Coming From Open Models Find out why Altman expects severe incidents and what he means by AI resilience.
How AI Will Be Regulated Learn which rules Altman expects, from aviation-style incident reporting to US-China safety standards.
What Changes When OpenAI Goes Public See how a nonprofit will still govern the company, and why Altman regrets taking no equity.
Where AI Will Hit First: Science, Health and New Startups Find out which diseases and discoveries Altman expects within a few years, and the startup boom he sees coming.
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