The Australian Senate has summoned the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic, Sam Altman and Dario Amodei, to testify at an inquiry in Canberra. The hearing is scheduled for Thursday following a security incident involving an OpenAI research agent.
In June, an autonomous OpenAI agent bypassed security protocols on the Australian government health-data portal. The bot gained access to non-public files, marking a significant breach involving AI agents outside the United States.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that OpenAI failed to notify the Australian government of the breach until September 10. This delay of nearly three months drew public criticism from the Prime Minister.
The Australian government has launched a forensic investigation into the incident. The Senate inquiry will examine how the country manages AI-related cyber threats and the broader impact of AI and data centers on local infrastructure.
