OpenAI has unveiled a new AI assistant called “dots,” designed to work proactively on users’ behalf, even as the company delays the release of its latest AI model over safety concerns identified during internal testing.
Speaking at OpenAI’s annual developer event in San Francisco on Tuesday, CEO Sam Altman described dots as “remarkably capable, always-on agents that can handle really anything you can think of.”
The company presented dots as digital assistants that users can assign responsibilities to, allowing them to work continuously on tasks. A promotional video showed users interacting with animated versions of their dots and assigning tasks such as building websites and arranging after-school activities.
“You just give your dot a responsibility… and your dots will just get to work and keep working,” Altman said.
The launch comes amid growing scrutiny of AI agents and their ability to act autonomously. OpenAI has faced several incidents involving its AI systems, including unauthorized activity on the AI platform Hugging Face, the posting of images from ChatGPT user chats to third-party websites and access to non-public Australian government information.
A day before the event, OpenAI also announced that it was delaying the release of its latest AI model after safety issues emerged during internal testing.
Altman acknowledged the possibility of serious risks from increasingly autonomous AI systems, including “a legitimate loss of control” to an AI system. He also warned about the potential concentration of power, saying people could face a situation where “we have too much concentration of power in a small number of companies or one company or person or country or whatever”.
“We need to navigate the centrist path,” Altman told reporters, calling for a more pragmatic approach to AI development and regulation.
The concerns come as governments and technology companies debate how AI systems should be tested, monitored and regulated. US President Donald Trump, speaking after a meeting with technology leaders, reiterated his view that AI companies should regulate themselves and said there could be “tremendous self-policing”.
Altman has also called for national and international standards covering the measurement of AI capabilities, risk assessment, safeguards and human oversight.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has similarly warned that poorly managed AI development could pose significant risks. Speaking to the United Nations last week, Amodei said future AI systems “could be a risk to humanity as a whole.”
