Ethical Stack

GPT-6 family

Closed, hosted frontier model family. GPT-6 Astra is the flagship; GPT-6.1 Sol and GPT-6 Luna are listed as lower-cost and efficient variants.

Score calculation

(4 + 6 + 2 + 4 + 5) ÷ 5 = 4.2

5 of six dimensions rated. Unrated dimensions and BDS status are excluded.

Full scoring method ↗
Setup details

The model identity and availability are release-specific; privacy, training-data sourcing, energy, labour, and customer relationships below are organization-level unless explicitly stated. Do not infer that a customer contract used this exact checkpoint.

Current official API catalog lists GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, and GPT-6 Luna. Checked 2026-10-23. The catalog does not expose a separate training-data or environmental model card for each variant.

Energy

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OpenAI has described data-center investments, but the sources checked do not give GPT-6 training energy, inference energy, water, or emissions per task. Hosted compute means user-side estimates need provider-region and workload data.

Reasoning & sources

The project announcement concerns planned data-center capacity, not a measured GPT-6 training run or representative request. A fair comparison needs model-level power, emissions, and workload boundaries; buyers can ask providers for region- and usage-specific reporting.

No GPT-6-specific energy, water, or lifecycle figures; announced infrastructure estimates are not model measurements.

Training rights

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OpenAI says its models use public internet information, third-party partnerships, and information supplied or generated by users, human trainers, and researchers; it describes exclusions and opt-outs. This is a general account, not a GPT-6 dataset manifest or independent rights audit.

Reasoning & sources

OpenAI describes several data-source classes and opt-out or exclusion practices, but does not identify which sources trained GPT-6 or audit those rights independently. These policies show some process transparency, but customers seeking provenance still need dataset-level attestations.

Broad data-source and opt-out statements exist, but no GPT-6-specific corpus or independent rights audit.

No GPT-6 source-level corpus list, rights clearance audit, or complete opt-out coverage was found.

Privacy

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Consumer ChatGPT content may be used to improve models unless users opt out; business and API data are not used for training by default. This describes service controls, not a guarantee about every downstream host.

Reasoning & sources

The cited policies distinguish consumer ChatGPT from business/API use: consumer conversations have opt-out controls, while business/API inputs are excluded from training by default. Retention and access still vary by endpoint and settings, so compare the exact product contract and controls before sending sensitive data.

Published opt-out for consumer data and default exclusion for business/API data, with product-dependent retention.

Retention, human review, and jurisdiction depend on product, account settings, and endpoint.

Openness

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Closed model weights and proprietary training pipeline; access is through OpenAI products and API/partners. Public model names and API documentation do not make the model open-weight or reproducible.

Reasoning & sources

The official catalog offers GPT-6 as a product/API service but provides no downloadable weights or reproducible training materials. Users cannot independently inspect the checkpoint or host it themselves.

Closed API/product access with no public weights or reproducible training recipe.

No public weights, full training data, or complete training recipe found.

Worker treatment

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OpenAI’s supplier code sets broad labor standards but does not publish worker outcomes. TIME’s investigation reviewed OpenAI–Sama contracts, payslips, and interviews about 2021–22 Kenyan toxic-content labeling; workers described low take-home pay and distress, while Sama disputed workload/counseling claims and OpenAI said Sama managed pay and support. TIME later reported OpenAI said it was unaware of the conditions and no longer worked with Sama; this is a historical contractor case, not evidence of current API annotation conditions.

Reasoning & sources

A documented past supplier episode includes worker reports of low pay and psychological distress, countered by Sama and OpenAI responses; the current supplier code has no public independent outcome audit. This is relevant when deciding whose business to support, while pay and working conditions for the team behind GPT-6 family remain unestablished. Ask for current worker outcomes for that team and its suppliers.

OpenAI’s general materials acknowledge human trainers and feedback, but they do not report GPT-6 worker numbers, compensation, vendors, or working conditions. Because the evidence confirms human contribution but not its terms, seek supplier disclosures rather than treating silence as evidence of good or bad practice.

A documented past supplier episode includes worker reports of low pay and psychological distress, countered by Sama and OpenAI responses; the current supplier code has no public independent outcome audit. This rating describes the company relationship or supplier policy, not a finding about this particular product’s use.

Working conditions for the people building or supporting GPT-6 family are not established by this company-wide record. The sources do not establish whether OpenAI uses other current annotation vendors, present worker outcomes, or the effectiveness of the supplier code across vendors.

Government & military

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OpenAI publicly describes a 2026 classified Department of War agreement with cloud-only deployment, retained safety controls, cleared staff, and contractual limits. It separately says ChatGPT will reach GenAI.mil for unclassified work used by 3 million civilian and military personnel. Both are direct defense deployments; limits are company-reported and not independently audited.

Reasoning & sources

OpenAI reports cloud-only deployment, retained safety controls, cleared staff, and contractual limits; these are meaningful safeguards, but no independent check of enforcement is public. This is relevant when deciding whose business to support. Deployment of GPT-6 family or this particular model release under those contracts remains unestablished; consider the company relationship separately from the product’s actual use.

OpenAI describes classified Department of War work and a GenAI.mil deployment, but neither public announcement attributes each service to GPT-6 specifically. Treat this as a company-level defense relationship, not proof of this checkpoint’s use; buyers with restrictions should obtain model-and-workflow deployment assurances.

OpenAI reports cloud-only deployment, retained safety controls, cleared staff, and contractual limits; these are meaningful safeguards, but no independent check of enforcement is public. This rating describes the company relationship or supplier policy, not a finding about this particular product’s use.

Deployment of GPT-6 family under these contracts is not established. Actual use, oversight effectiveness, and compliance with contract limits are not independently established.

BDS status

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We did not find OpenAI among the named targets in the two official BNC campaign lists. This is a limited list check, not BDS approval.

Reasoning & sources

OpenAI is not a named target in the checked lists, but BDS uses selective campaigns, so absence cannot establish a clean record. OpenAI’s April 2026 agreement names Microsoft as its primary cloud partner and a major shareholder, with revenue-share payments to Microsoft through 2030. That is a documented commercial link to a BDS target, not a separate official listing of OpenAI; local use of downloaded weights does not by itself establish a new payment to either company.

This review covers the named targets in the BNC consumer/pressure guide and No Tech campaign, not every BDS campaign, local group, investment or supplier. Lists and ownership can change. A company’s absence from these lists is not an endorsement or proof that it has no relevant relationships.

All sources

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