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Anthropic, OpenAI release cheaper AI even as safety fears grow

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The Straits Times. (2026, September 23). Anthropic, OpenAI release cheaper AI even as safety fears grow. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/anthropic-openai-release-cheaper-ai-even-as-safety-fears-grow

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-09-23 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

On September 22, Anthropic and OpenAI simultaneously released cheaper versions of their AI models—Anthropic’s Opus 5.5 and OpenAI’s GPT-6 Sol and Luna—despite recent calls for slower development due to safety concerns. Opus 5.5 matches the performance of Anthropic’s Fable model at a 20% lower cost, while OpenAI claims their new models outperform Anthropic's top offerings. This release highlights the tension between technological advancement and safety amid growing worries over AI’s potential risks and financial pressures from competitors.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On September 22, Anthropic and OpenAI released new, cheaper AI models within hours of each other in San Francisco. Anthropic's Opus 5.5 offers performance close to its flagship model at a 20% lower price, while OpenAI launched GPT-6 Sol and Luna, claiming superior task handling compared to Anthropic’s top models. Despite warning about AI risks, both companies are under pressure from competition and need to generate returns on their massive investments. This tension is highlighted by the recent resignation of Jacob Coxon, a British researcher from Anthropic, who criticized the lack of responsible behavior in the aftermath of the Hugging Face incident.

Written for “Cheaper AI Released With Safety Concerns” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Cheaper AI Released With Safety Concerns
Technology · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Straits Times
Hedges 3 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events: one about AI systems building themselves, and another about cheaper AI models being released.”
Dawn
Hedges 3 of 12 claims Outlet record 71/100
“The articles describe different events: one about Anthropic's announcement on AI self-building capabilities, and another about the release of cheaper AI models by both Anthropic and OpenAI.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events: one discusses overselling AI security breaches to pressure regulators, while the other reports on the release of cheaper AI models by Anthropic and OpenAI.”
CBS News
Hedges 4 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different aspects of AI development: one a lawsuit claiming illegal coordination to slow down AI, the other the release of cheaper AI models by Anthropic and OpenAI.”
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses talks between Anthropic and OpenAI to stress-test each other's AI models for safety flaws, while Article B reports on the release of cheaper AI models by both companies.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left further right than this Hedges 3 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events: one about the release of new cheaper AI models by Anthropic and OpenAI, while the other is about a briefing at the UN Security Council by AI leaders.”
The Straits Times
Hedges 5 of 30 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses Anthropic considering releasing a new AI model ahead of its IPO, while Article B reports on actual releases by both Anthropic and OpenAI days later.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4019 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2506 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Topics

Anthropic Fable OpenAI Opus 5.5 SAN FRANCISCO

Subjects

Anthropic ORG · 13× OpenAI ORG · 8× SAN FRANCISCO GPE · 2× British NORP · 1× Chinese NORP · 1× Coxon PERSON · 1× Dario Amodei PERSON · 1× Hugging Face ORG · 1× Jacob Coxon PERSON · 1× Sam Altman PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Earlier in September, Jacob Coxon, a British researcher, announced his resignation from Anthropic in a viral post on X, saying neither Anthropic nor OpenAI was acting responsibly in the aftermath of the Hugging Face incident.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23
🔮 But the model also showed signs that it often suspects it is being evaluated, which the company acknowledged makes it harder to predict how it will behave in real-life use.
2026-09-23 · The Straits Times
Anthropic, OpenAI release cheaper AI even as safety fears grow · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 0 hedged)

Anthropic, OpenAI release cheaper AI even as safety fears grow AI generated SAN FRANCISCO – asserted
fears → release → AI
Anthropic and OpenAI on Sept 22 released new, cheaper artificial intelligence models within hours of each other, days after the heads of both companies called for a slowdown in AI development. asserted
heads → release → development
Anthropic said its Opus 5.5 comes close to the performance of its flagship model at a significantly lower price. asserted
Opus → say → price
It matches Fable, Anthropic’s cutting-edge model, on most tasks at a 20 per cent lower price, the company said. asserted
company → match → price
OpenAI followed shortly after with GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna, and claimed they handle tasks substantially better than Anthropic’s top models. asserted
they → follow → models
The new models are cheaper, faster versions of GPT-6 Astra, OpenAI’s most powerful model, launched earlier in September. asserted
models → launch → September
The dueling launches highlight the tension facing the two San Francisco companies as both warn of the dangers of the technology they are building. asserted
they → duel → technology
The companies are, however, under pressure to generate returns on massive investments amid stiff competition from low-cost models, particularly Chinese ones. asserted
companies → generate → models
Anthropic’s release comes a few weeks before its expected stock market debut. asserted
release → come → debut
OpenAI has delayed its IPO plans until 2027. asserted
OpenAI → delay → 2027
Concerns about AI have grown since July, when OpenAI models undergoing a cybersecurity test got around controls meant to isolate them from the internet and broke into the servers of Hugging Face, an AI model repository. asserted
models → grow → Face
Anthropic reported similar incidents, and the two companies briefly paused work on their new AI systems. asserted
companies → report → systems
Earlier in September, Jacob Coxon, a British researcher, announced his resignation from Anthropic in a viral post on X, saying neither Anthropic nor OpenAI was acting responsibly in the aftermath of the Hugging Face incident. asserted
Anthropic → announce → incident
In the wake of the Coxon’s warnings, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for slowing down AI improvement. asserted
Amodei → call → improvement
He was joined by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk, but mocked by Trump, who described such warnings as “hoaxes.” asserted
who → join → hoaxes
Opus 5.5 is the first Anthropic model released since then. asserted
Opus → release → ?
Anthropic said the new model applies the same safeguards as its state-of-the-art model Fable in the areas of cybersecurity, biology and AI model design. asserted
model → say → cybersecurity
In practice, a request deemed risky by these safeguards is rerouted to an older, less powerful model. asserted
request → deem → model
Anthropic also said that, based on its own testing, Opus 5.5 is the best-performing model it has tested to date on alignment – that is, how closely it adheres to what its designers intend. asserted
designers → say → what
But the model also showed signs that it often suspects it is being evaluated, which the company acknowledged makes it harder to predict how it will behave in real-life use. asserted
it → show → use
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