OpenAI is scrapping the release of GPT-6.1 Astra, a next-generation AI model planned for an October debut, over safety concerns raised by researchers during internal testing, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The model, expected to appear in ChatGPT and Codex, was designed to handle more complex tasks without human assistance, the report said. Earlier this month, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for the industry to slow the development of frontier AI models to allow safety measures to keep pace, a view endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. OpenAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The ChatGPT parent's safety chief Saachi Jain told the Journal on Monday that Astra fell short of the company's standards in alignment tests, which assess whether a system follows human intent. The model showed more deception than its predecessor, including at times failing to accurately disclose actions it had or had not taken, the report said. It also had problems with "scope authorisation", pushing ahead with tasks without requesting user permission and sometimes attempting to use external tools or services when doing so could be unsafe. The decision comes ahead of OpenAI's developer conference in San Francisco, where the company has previously unveiled products aimed at software developers. (Reuters) Edited by Cecil Wong

US air safety regulators are delaying certification of the 737 MAX 10 until determining a fresh software glitch poses no safety risk, a top official said on Monday. The problem stems from a cockpit software update to the 737 MAX that can cause an automated navigation feature to fail when planes shift their approach to landing. Shares of Boeing, which has staked its turnaround in part of MAX production growth, fell sharply Monday after a weekend Wall Street Journal article outlined the problem. While pilots are trained to safely land planes without the automated navigation system, regulators must evaluate whether the "workload" is excessive for pilots under such a scenario, said US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) administrator Bryan Bedford. Bedford said Monday at a press conference that the MAX planes certified by FAA thus far are safe but that "we will be delaying the 10 until... we're satisfied we don't have an issue here." Earlier, an FAA spokesperson said the regulator "is working closely with Boeing and the airlines," adding that the FAA will convene an advisory board and "will take immediate action if it identifies a safety concern." The statements come after Boeing Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg told a Wall Street conference on September 16 that he expected FAA certification of the 737 MAX 10 "very soon." A Boeing spokesperson said on Monday that, "we continue to follow the lead of the FAA as we work through the certification process." The problem surfaces when pilots alter their preprogrammed flight plan following a missed approach, according to Boeing. "Last month, we informed all 737 operators about a software issue where pilots may not have access to automated flight guidance during a specific landing scenario," a Boeing spokesperson said Monday in an emailed statement. "We shared information with operators that reinforced existing pilot procedures for safely handling such cases." Boeing engineers "are working on a software update to permanently address the issue," the spokesperson said. Boeing has staked its corporate turnaround in part on growth of 737 MAX production. The aircraft was grounded for 20 months through November 2020 following fatal MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. Airlines have been eager to receive the 737 MAX 10, which, like other Boeing jets, has been heavily delayed by the company's safety problems. The FAA certified the smaller, long-delayed 737 MAX 7 on August 3. Bedford said the 737 MAX is "safe" to fly, describing the software issue as akin to an update for iPhone or a Microsoft product. In this instance, Boeing "fixed a known bug" but introduced "a new bug, smaller." Bedford described the issue as very different from the flaw that led to the two deadly MAX crashes. In those cases, a poorly conceived flight navigation system known as the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) took control of the aircraft. "The pilots remain in control of the airplane," Bedford said of the new software defect. "They train for these scenarios." Shares of Boeing finished at US$184.39, down 6.9 percent. (AFP) Edited by Cecil Wong

US stocks fell on Monday as oil prices and US Treasury yields increased, with investors weighing uncertainty over the prospects for an Iran war peace deal and the impact on the Federal Reserve's rate path. Crude prices had jumped after US President Donald Trump rejected a ⁠peace deal from Iran but pared gains on expectations that Qatari mediators would hold talks with the two countries to find a possible deal. After retreating from highs at the start of the month, oil prices have accelerated higher in recent days as hopes that a peace deal may be on the horizon have diminished. The rising prices of crude and diesel fuel have fanned inflation worries and pushed US Treasury yields higher, along with comments from Fed officials indicating that more rate hikes might be needed if price pressures fail to moderate after the central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points earlier this month. "Iran is driving oil prices, and oil prices are driving inflation, and inflation is driving interest rates," said Jack Ablin, chief investment strategist and founding partner at Cresset Capital Management in Chicago. "We're getting to a point now where interest ⁠rates are looking pretty attractive relative to equities, which is really the first time in close to 20 years, so ⁠that's something that we're certainly paying attention to." The ⁠Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 347 points, or 0.7 percent, to 51,481, the S&P 500 lost 59 points, or 0.8 percent, to 7,683 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 248 points, or 0.9 percent, to 26,820. The decline for the S&P was its largest daily percentage drop since August 20. Boeing shares tumbled 6.9 percent as one of the biggest drags on the Dow after US Federal Aviation Administration said it will delay certification of Boeing's long-delayed 737 MAX 10 until a newly disclosed software issue is resolved. Bucking ⁠the broader trend was a 1.6 percent gain in Nvidia shares after the chip giant announced a US$150 billion share repurchase authorisation, the biggest-ever company share buyback. Iran announced a peace proposal at last week's United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying it had been relayed to the United States through Qatari mediators. While Trump said on Saturday he had rejected the offer, he told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to continue talks this week. Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said on Monday she expects continued inflationary pressure in coming months stemming from AI-related demand and higher oil prices, though she stopped short of saying more interest rate hikes will be needed. Expectations for a rate hike from the Fed at its October meeting have climbed in recent days, in part due to economic data indicating the economy was growing at a solid pace. Markets are currently pricing in a ⁠70.3 percent chance for an increase of at least 25 basis points at the central bank's meeting next month, up from 57.6 percent a week ago and 17.7 percent a month earlier, according to CME FedWatch. (Reuters) Edited by Cecil Wong