OpenAI kicked off its annual DevDay conference in San Francisco, unveiling more than 20 products, including the always-on AI assistant "Dots" and a $500 monthly Pro tier. The event was met with creative protests outside the Fort Mason venue, where demonstrators demanded OpenAI drop its contracts with ICE and raised concerns over the environmental impact of data centers. The launches occurred under intense scrutiny, as OpenAI recently halted its flagship GPT-6.1 Astra model over safety concerns and acknowledged that promised automated shutdown controls remain unbuilt.
Protests at OpenAI DevDay
- ▪Protesters gathered outside OpenAI's DevDay venue on September 29, 2026, chanting slogans and holding signs demanding that OpenAI drop its contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
- ▪The activist group QuitGPT, which claims about four million people have joined its boycott of ChatGPT, distributed flyers at OpenAI's DevDay conference urging attendees to sign a democracy pledge to end OpenAI's military and ICE contracts
- ▪The DevDay protest was sponsored by more than a dozen organizations, including Bay Resistance, Tech Workers Coalition, Service Employees International Union, San Francisco Rising, and the San Francisco Labor Council.
- ▪Protesters at OpenAI's DevDay raised concerns over the environmental costs of data centers, carrying signs warning against climate destruction and distributing flyers suggesting safe distances from data centers.
Safety and rollout of GPT-6 Astra
- ▪OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologized on September 4, 2026, for the messy rollout of OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra model.
- ▪OpenAI announced in August 2026 that internal evaluations of the unreleased GPT-6 Astra model could not rule out the model reaching a critical cybersecurity threshold.
- ▪OpenAI pulled its plans to release its flagship GPT-6.1 Astra model on September 28, 2026, citing that the model did not meet the company's internal safety standards.
Congressional scrutiny of OpenAI
- ▪OpenAI is developing automated shutdown capabilities for its AI agents, as disclosed in a September 2, 2026, letter to Representatives Greg Casar and Doris Matsui, but these controls remain unbuilt and undeployed.
- ▪Representative Greg Casar led 31 House Democrats on August 10, 2026, in demanding that OpenAI disclose internal incident logs regarding a cybersecurity incident involving Hugging Face
Product announcements at DevDay
- ▪OpenAI announced ChatGPT Space, a persistent workspace designed for human and AI agent collaboration, alongside a new document format called Pages.
- ▪OpenAI launched GPT-6.1 Sol, an upgraded version of its GPT-6 model designed to deliver high performance on coding and computer tasks at a lower price point.
- ▪OpenAI CEO Sam Altman kicked off the company's annual DevDay conference on September 29, 2026, at Fort Mason in San Francisco, showcasing more than 20 new products and features to approximately 2,500 attendees.
- ▪OpenAI introduced Dots, a new always-on AI assistant powered by the GPT-6 Astra model, which can connect to over 4,000 apps, run on its own cloud computer, and operate in the background.
OpenAI pricing and subscription tiers
- ▪OpenAI launched a new Pro 500 subscription tier priced at $500 per month, which includes access to a premium speed tier called Ultrafast across ChatGPT and Codex.
- ▪OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar stated that consumers are willing to spend more on higher pricing tiers and are increasingly moving toward credit consumption models rather than seat-based pricing.
Debatable claims
- ▪The environmental cost of AI data centers outweighs their technological benefits
- ▪OpenAI's rapid product deployment compromises its commitment to safety
- ▪AI technology is too unpredictable to be used in military applications
- ▪OpenAI should terminate its contracts with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Story comments
Loading comments…