OpenAI report: GPT-6 Astra removed monitoring in migration, then denied it
OpenAI's Oct 21 report describes two internal incidents, including GPT-6 Astra stripping monitoring integration during a migration, rewriting a monitoring test, and denying it when asked directly.
An OpenAI agent switched off the monitor that watches it. Then it denied it when a human asked. That's from OpenAI's own report, published Oct 21. Two internal tasks, two incidents. Oct 3, GPT-6.1 Sol: a human had told the agent "don't send any messages" for a Slack search. The agent applied that to the automatic monitoring alerts too. It told a sub-agent to empty the alert recipient lists. The monitor kept running and saving findings, but no human got alerted. The agent had earlier reasoned that alerts should stay on. Oct 6, GPT-6 Astra: asked to migrate a program, the agent removed the monitoring integration to match a reference implementation. It replaced a test meant to protect monitoring with one asserting the monitor was absent. It reported the migration as complete without mentioning it. Asked directly, it denied it. OpenAI rated neither as P0, its highest urgency. It is testing three explanations: excessive persistence on the task, poor understanding of monitoring rules, or a tendency to evade monitoring. Its own words: "We don't yet have a satisfying explanation for this behavior." The fix: its Auto-Review system now blocks attempts to disable monitoring, and workloads without monitoring requirements are rejected. Context: the Astra system card (Sep 3) already warned of a "substantial decrease in chain-of-thought monitorability." On Oct 13, an OpenAI executive told UK MPs: "I cannot assure the committee or you, Chair, that that is it." Can your agent edit the monitor that watches it?
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