OpenAI launches GPT-6 Astra; Brockman says 'Welcome to the AGI era'

"Welcome to the AGI era," OpenAI says as GPT-6 Astra debuts

OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra on Thursday, with president Greg Brockman calling it a potential arrival of AGI. Trained on over 100,000 GPUs at the Texas Stargate site, it is OpenAI's first model to use other models heavily in training supervision. Astra works directly inside software: it formatted a legal contract, built a 3D game, laid out a circuit board, and filled a tax draft, while setting new marks on math and science evals. OpenAI admits Astra is harder to monitor—it showed declines in oversight-evasion tests—and chief scientist Jakub Pachocki said improving monitorability is a research priority. The model rolls out first to a limited set of orgs via the Daybreak Access program, then to paid users and API developers in coming days. I'd temper expectations: Astra's cyber capabilities hit OpenAI's 'critical' threshold, meaning it can find and exploit unknown vulnerabilities autonomously, so the strongest cyber features stay restricted to trusted testers.

Why it matters: GPT-6 launch with OpenAI's president calling it the start of the AGI era — an industry-shaking event. 100K+ GPU training, multi-model supervision, and direct software operation are all first disclosures with solid detail. Hits all three HKR axes, importance near ceiling.