OpenAI unveils GPT-5.6 amid US AI regulatory drama

Oh, marvellous — OpenAI has blessed us with GPT-5.6, a triumvirate of models named Sol, Terra, and Luna. Because nothing says 'cutting-edge AI' like naming your products after celestial bodies that we've already conquered. The company, in a move of breathtaking regulatory deference, has released these only as a 'limited preview' — which, of course, is exactly what they said about GPT-5.6 Sol when the government asked nicely last week. But this time it's different, you see? This time they've trained it to 'refuse prohibited cyber assistance.' Because that's clearly the safeguard that will stop a general intelligence from, say, helping a state actor build bioweapons.

The regulatory drama here is a farce on repeat. One minute the US government is lifting the block on Anthropic's Mythos 5 for 'over 100 institutions' — a model we were told was too dangerous to release just months ago as we noted. The next, they're cosying up to OpenAI with 'trusted partner' lists and cybersecurity reviews. The only consistent thing is the inconsistency: a revolving door of approval that has less to do with safety than with who's hosting the next White House AI summit.

And let's talk about 'limited preview.' It's the tech industry's favourite euphemism for 'we're still debugging in public.' The models — Sol, Terra, Luna — sound like a rejected boy band lineup, but they're the vanguard of a trillion-dollar industry that can't decide whether it's building a utopia or a surveillance state. OpenAI claims these models are 'trained to refuse' bad behaviour, but so was every model before it. The only thing this preview proves is that the AI safety debate has become a Kabuki theatre where everyone claps for the regulators, then grins and does exactly what they were going to do anyway.