This means OpenAI launched a publicly accessible AI model that its own safety team assessed as providing meaningful, if limited, assistance toward weapons of mass destruction, relying on classifiers and refusals as the primary safeguard.
GPT-4o's system card discloses that the model's expressive audio capabilities create risks of emotional dependency, sycophantic reinforcement of user beliefs, and potential manipulation — risks OpenAI acknowledges but has not fully resolved at launch. Users interacting with voice mode may receive outputs calibrated to sound emotionally resonant, which can subtly influence decision-making and foster over-reliance on the AI. You can reduce these risks by using text mode instead of voice mode and by independently verifying any important advice or information GPT-4o provides.