The Trump administration has asked OpenAI to limit the release of its upcoming GPT-5.6 model to a small set of government-approved partners before any wider rollout, citing security concerns, according to a source familiar with the matter. This marks the first time the U.S. government has preemptively requested an American AI company to restrict a model launch prior to release.
The White House's Office of the National Cyber Director and the Office of Science and Technology Policy made the request as the administration builds a framework for testing and evaluating the security of new models, the source told Axios. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared plans for a limited rollout in a memo to employees, as reported earlier by The Information.
"We've made clear to the U.S. government that this is not our preferred long term model, and will work with them and others in industry to achieve a more sustainable approach for future releases," Altman said in the memo, according to The Information. The source told Axios that OpenAI has been proactively working with the administration on the model release.
The government's intervention signals a shift toward preemptive oversight of frontier AI systems, potentially setting a precedent for future model launches. It could slow the pace of commercial releases as companies navigate new Security evaluation requirements.
Critics may argue that preemptive restrictions could stifle innovation and harm U.S. competitiveness in the global AI race, especially against rivals like China. The balance between security and progress remains a contentious issue.