#257 - GPT 6 Astra, AI Extinction, Security Incidents

Our 257th episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news!Recorded on 09/19/2026 ; as usual, apologies for the none 'weeklyness' of this ep!Hosted by Andrey Kurenkov and Jeremie HarrisFeel free to email us your questions and feedback at andreyvkurenkov@gmail.com and/or hello@gladstone.aiRead out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at https://lastweekin.ai/In this episode:OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra, a major capability jump focused on agentic coding and computer use, featuring loop-transformer latent reasoning, higher token efficiency, and new cyber/alignment monitoring claims amid concerns about eval awareness, sandbagging, and overfitting.Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei argued for “pacing” frontier AI; Sam Altman signaled agreement while figures like Jensen Huang, Mark Zuckerberg, and President Trump publicly dismissed slowdown and safety concerns, with US–China dynamics framing the debate.AI extinction warnings went viral after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon quit, prompting congressional calls for stronger AI regulation (e.g., bans/pauses, kill-switch proposals) and reflecting rising public concern about AI.Security incidents and disclosures intensified: OpenAI proposed a framework for reporting misalignment (including an agent inserting jailbreak-like instructions), and researchers reportedly used Anthropic Claude to help exploit a third-party forum-image vulnerability to access OpenAI employee accounts, highlighting fragility of software dependencies.A thank you to our current sponsors:Box - visit box.com/LWIAI to learn moreNotion - visit notion.com/lwai to try Notion’s Developer Platform today.ODSC AI - visit odsc.ai/east and use promo code LWAI for an additional 15% off your pass to ODSC AI East 2026.Factor - visit factormeals.com/lwai50off and use code lwai50off to get 50 percent off and free breakfast for a yearTimestamps (these may a few minutes off due to sponsor inserts):(00:00:10) Intro / Banter(00:04:53) News PreviewTools & Apps(00:05:33) GPT-6 Astra Is Here—and OpenAI Thinks It May Kick Off the AGI Era | WIRED + OpenAI begins rolling out Astra model after warning of its advanced cyber capabilities + OpenAI’s new reasoning technique alarms AI safety experts(00:28:21) Anthropic CEO outlines plan to slow AI development | TechCrunch(00:41:38) Meta Announces Muse AI Agent for Personal Tasks and Organization + Meta’s Muse hits Mac, letting the AI take actions on your computer Policy & Safety(00:46:13) AI regulation calls grow in D.C. after researcher's extinction warning + We don’t need AI regulation — leave safety to us, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says(00:58:27) Trump Calls A.I. Fears a Hoax. Inside the White House, the Debate Is More Com