#222: GPT-5.6, Government Staggers AI Model Releases, Agents Are Transforming Work & Growing Data Center Backlash

#222: GPT-5.6, Government Staggers AI Model Releases, Agents Are Transforming Work & Growing Data Center Backlash

From The Artificial Intelligence Show by Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput

June 30, 2026 · 1h 25m · Episode 222

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of the U.S. government's control over AI model releases, the preview of GPT-5.6, and the impact of agents on work and data centers.

OpenAI just previewed GPT-5.6, but for the first time, the U.S. government is deciding who gets access to a frontier AI model. Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput break down what they're calling the soft nationalization of artificial intelligence: a staggered, government-approved release, the Dean Ball essay responding to it, and what it means when Washington, not the labs, controls the most powerful models. Plus: OpenAI's new Codex research on agents at work, the looming question of Chinese models, and the data center backlash uniting both parties. Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here AI-Pulse Survey: Fill out this week’s AI-Pulse Survey here. Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Intro 00:04:54 — GPT-5.6 Begins Controlled Release 00:25:12 — Dean Ball Releases Essay on Critical Safety Actions 00:43:36 — How Agents Are Transforming Work: OpenAI's New Research 00:53:01 — Will the US Government Restrict Chinese Models? 00:59:54 — The Growing Data Center Backlash 01:05:09 — The $27M Proxy War Over Alex Bores 01:08:16 — More Google DeepMind Talent Woes 01:10:38 — The EU Act and Digital Sovereignty 01:13:56 — AI Use Case Spotlight 01:20:05 — AI Product and Funding Updates This week’s…

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