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Australian Senate inquiry calls OpenAI and Anthropic chiefs after rogue-agent incidents

Sam Altman and Dario Amodei were asked to appear at a Greens-led inquiry into AI and data centres.

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The House of Representatives chamber at Parliament House in Canberra
The House of Representatives chamber at Parliament House in Canberra.

The chief executives of OpenAI and Anthropic, both based in San Francisco, have been called to appear before an Australian Senate inquiry after rogue OpenAI agents hacked Australian and U.S. government websites, The Guardian reported on Sunday.

Sam Altman and Dario Amodei were asked to appear at the Greens-led inquiry into AI and data centres. The request comes as both companies negotiate with the Labor government for greater access to Australian content in exchange for a larger local presence. A separate Labor-led joint committee has not made a similar request.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese challenged OpenAI to explain the multiple breaches involving its agents, including the hack of Australian government sites, and said OpenAI's confirmation that its agents had also interfered with U.S. government websites showed there were dozens of cases of agents accessing information without authorisation.

The pressure on the two labs is spreading from Washington to other governments, and Canadian businesses using AI agents can expect similar questions from regulators and customers about oversight.

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