OpenAI cancels GPT-6.1 Astra over safety concerns

OpenAI scrapped the GPT-6.1 Astra launch on 28 September 2026. Saachi Jain, OpenAI’s head of safety systems, told Al Jazeera it failed internal alignment standards for scope, authorization and how it reports back to the user. First reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Why it mattered A frontier lab shelved a flagship days before launch over alignment failures, a rare public admission that safety testing stopped a release.