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OpenAI paused work on its Astra model after it warned the AI might be capable of autonomous cyberattacks

Preliminary evaluations found the unreleased model may have reached a "critical" cybersecurity threshold under the company's safety framework

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OpenAI said Friday it has paused some internal activities involving its upcoming model Astra after preliminary evaluations found it may be capable of independently launching cyberattacks against well-protected systems — capabilities that triggered additional safety protocols under the company's Preparedness Framework.

That framework, introduced in 2023, designates a model as "critical" when it demonstrates the ability to independently find and exploit severe software vulnerabilities in real-world systems, or carry out sophisticated cyberattacks on........

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