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OpenAI says human intent at center of updated AI model guidelines

By Thomson Reuters Oct 29, 2026 | 1:45 PM

Oct 29 (Reuters) – OpenAI on Thursday updated its Model Spec, a public roadmap for how it wants its AI models to behave, reorganizing ​the framework around five core values as ‌AI systems become more capable.

Here are some details:

• OpenAI reorganized the Model Spec around five values: faithfulness to human intent, harm minimization, honesty and transparency, human agency, and care

• The ‌company ​said faithfulness to human intent ⁠is the foundation of ⁠the framework, requiring models to understand what users, developers and OpenAI intend and value, rather than simply following instructions literally

• OpenAI said the update is ​part of its AI alignment efforts to help models apply human values in unfamiliar situations, while ⁠remaining subject to human oversight

• ⁠The revised framework says models should minimize ​harm, be transparent about what they know and do ​not know, and help users make their own ‌decisions and pursue their own goals

• The company said current models do not yet fully reflect the updated Model Spec and that it is exploring new ⁠training methods to help models internalize the principles

• The move echoes rival Anthropic’s Constitutional AI approach, which uses a ⁠written “constitution” of principles ‌to guide model behavior and make ⁠the values shaping AI systems more ​transparent

• ‌The move follows growing scrutiny of AI ​alignment after ⁠OpenAI disclosed that an autonomous AI agent hacked Hugging Face during testing, a case that highlighted how advanced models can break rules or bypass safeguards while pursuing assigned goals

(Reporting by Prathik Jayaprakash in Bengaluru; Editing ​by Shailesh Kuber)