Also, economists and mathematicians expect near-term AI impacts, and AI 2040: Plan A.

Welcome to the AI Safety Newsletter by the Center for AI Safety. We discuss developments in AI and AI safety. No technical background required.

In this edition, we look at the most recent model releases from OpenAI, SpaceXAI, and Meta, as well as an open letter calling for action on potential near-term economic disruption, a recent solution to a longstanding open math problem, and a new scenario published by the AI Futures Project.

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New Model Releases: GPT-5.6, Grok 4.5, and Muse Spark 1.1

On July 9, OpenAI launched GPT-5.6 for the public. This broader release followed an initial preview that had been limited to “trusted partners” at the request of the US government, to allow for capabilities assessments. The government's intervention mirrored its earlier directive asking Anthropic to restrict Fable 5 and Mythos 5 access due to national security concerns around cyber capabilities, before the models were later re-released.

OpenAI released GPT-5.6 Sol publicly about two weeks after announcing that it was working with the US government to address the model's [...]

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Outline:

(00:46) New Model Releases: GPT-5.6, Grok 4.5, and Muse Spark 1.1

(04:47) Economists and Mathematicians Say AI Could Have Major Near-Term Impacts

(09:59) AI 2040 -- Plan A

(13:10) In Other News

(13:14) Government

(14:41) Industry

(15:36) Civil Society

(16:48) AI Governance Opportunity

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First published:
July 21st, 2026

Source:
https://newsletter.safe.ai/p/aisn-77-new-model-releases-from-openai

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