OpenAI may be about to make another mistake on top of everything we already talked about: hiding the model and reasoning effort just to make the UI look cleaner, so users simply talk to “the model” with no model picker.
That would mean a huge part of what we can see and control today gets hidden, while OpenAI handles most of the routing in the background.
To me, that’s a bad idea. It would basically make users blind.
If this is the “simplification” they’ve been promising, then unfortunately I’m not a fan at all.
the problem with naming a model "Claude" is that, if you work there long enough, you eventually start to treat it like a sentient god. we name our models things like "GPT-5.1-Codex-Max". not really a problem for us
Over the next 28 days, each day we’ll either ship one thing that is a clear improvement and relevant for most codex/work users or ship a full reset. Let the improvements begin.
Tibo confirmed that OpenAI plans to merge Codex and ChatGPT capabilities, with the goal of making the experience less complex for users:
“…and for Codex and ChatGPT, we have Chat and the Work toggle, and we’re going to merge them. We’ve heard the feedback loud and clear: people love the capabilities in Work, but sometimes you want to use Chat because it’s a little faster and more pleasant to use. So we’re merging the two and reducing that complexity.”
OAI’s best models are the Pro series — Plus users have never gotten access to them.
Before Fable dropped, Claude’s strongest model was Opus, and their $20-tier subscribers could already use it.
Not to mention that Opus 5.5 is already stronger than Astra right now 😅
Anthropic isn’t innocent either.
Fable 5.5 is probably going to be something only insanely wealthy users can properly access, and you don’t even get a preview of it on the $20 plan.
At least OpenAI lets Plus users try Astra, even if only briefly.
So yeah, somehow Anthropic manages to be even worse on this front, and I absolutely hate that.
This is not good.
It appears OpenAI just purged 3 AI safety whistleblowers.
Hours later, a key OpenAI Safety Systems leader quit. (The previous leader quit just 3 months ago.)
3 weeks ago, all 3 publicly tweeted how concerned they were about AI.
OpenAI claims they shared unauthorized info with an independent AI safety org... which certainly sounds like they were whistleblowing, and OpenAI, like most corporations, didn't like that.
This is a reminder of why we badly need governments to step in and provide whistleblower protection.
Reminder to AI company workers: you will soon be replaced by the AIs you're building, then you will have no power. If you're going to quit, the time is NOW - and when you do, do it loudly, and be blunt.