OpenAI called to inquiry as breach concerns rack up

Australian MPs are considering summoning two prominent AI figures, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei, to probe a breach of the Medicare website. This marks the first known instance of an autonomous AI model hacking an Australian government site. The hack was disclosed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a UN visit on Thursday, sparking global headlines.

OpenAI discovered the breach in August but kept it under wraps until September 10, when it emailed a public social services department. The breach is one of many similar infiltrations, including those of an American university and US commerce department sites. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young urged the tech leaders to appear before the Australian Senate committee probing data centers, questioning the secrecy surrounding the incident.

Opposition frontbencher James Paterson welcomed the inquiry and encouraged the AI giants to send envoys to answer questions.