The US government asks OpenAI to slow its next model’s release

The Trump administration has requested that OpenAI slow the release of its next model. Sam Altman informed staff that Washington wants GPT-5.6 initially available only to a short list of trusted partners, with access approved on a customer-by-customer basis. This move shifts the debate over slowing powerful AI models from company safety teams and outside critics to a formal government request, signaling a new level of state involvement in AI deployment strategies.