South Korean financial authorities have expanded eligibility for emergency relief from network separation rules aimed at enabling artificial intelligence use to non-bank financial firms and electronic financial businesses. The second test widens the applicant pool and lowers asset and staffing thresholds, while keeping requirements for chief information security officers. Industry response is mixed, with large e-finance firms considering applications while some non-bank lenders say they do not plan to participate. Concerns are rising that phased easing could widen gaps in AI use and security readiness.

OpenAI is strengthening safety measures ahead of the launch of its next-generation AI model, Astra, amid concerns that the model’s internal reasoning could be less visible than in existing systems. OpenAI has delayed parts of development and rollout by several weeks to bolster protections against cyber misuse and unauthorised behaviour. Researchers say reduced visibility into “chain-of-thought” reasoning could make it harder to detect risky actions, while OpenAI says it is adding monitoring and limiting use of certain techniques.