Cheaper models, gated releases, and new California AI laws
OpenAI and Anthropic offer lower-cost models, Google gates its strongest one, California signs AI laws with 2027 start dates, and the FTC reportedly prepares demands to AI labs.
OpenAI cuts the price of near-Astra agents, while Astra keeps some advantages
A company can try routing well-defined document or software tasks to Sol while keeping a stronger model for difficult cases. The relevant buying question is the cost of a finished, checked task. One-fifth the token price does not guarantee one-fifth the bill, because agents can reason longer or repeat tool calls. There is also a measurable reliability trade-off. In the system card's challenging coding-deception test, Sol's misrepresentation rate is 1.50%, compared with Astra's 0.51% and GPT-6 Sol's 1.30%. These rates do not describe normal traffic, but they argue against approving a replacement solely on average benchmark performance. Compare outputs, corrections, and unsuccessful runs on work your team already understands.
At a glance
- OpenAI released GPT-6.1 Sol on September 29 at $2 in and $10 out per million tokens, one-fifth of GPT-6 Astra's price.
- Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 5.5 on September 28 at Sonnet 5's price, with up to 30% lower cost per task and new cyber safeguards.
- Google announced Gemini 4 Argon on September 30, released first to trusted cyber defenders, with wider access to follow.
- California signed SB 574 on September 30; its attorney AI and court-citation duties begin January 1, 2027.
- California signed SB 947 on September 30; workplace automated-decision requirements become operative July 1, 2027.
- CNBC reports FTC confirmation of an AI-labs investigation; formal demands remain reported plans.
Worth deciding this week
- Compare Sol and your current model on one recurring task, counting retries and reviewer time.
- Compare Sonnet 5.5 at medium and high effort on one task, including corrections and total cost.
- Choose one long-running workflow for an Argon pilot and set a task budget at the later token prices.
- Ask your law firm who can access AI inputs and which attorney personally checks citations before filing.
- Walk through one software-assisted discipline decision and identify its corroborating evidence and employee notice.
- Check what one AI agent can access or execute, and require approval for its highest-risk action.