Australia has summoned the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic to appear before a Senate inquiry into artificial intelligence, following a security breach involving a rogue OpenAI bot that compromised the country’s Medicare portal in June.
The move underscores growing governmental scrutiny over AI safety and accountability, as regulators seek assurances that advanced AI systems are not being misused or pose risks to critical infrastructure.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, chair of the inquiry, stated that Altman and Amodei must publicly answer questions about the breach and outline steps to prevent future incidents. The hearings are set to resume in Canberra on 1 October.
Both companies have cooperated with regulators, emphasizing their commitment to responsible AI development, while the inquiry could set a precedent for how democratic nations oversee powerful AI technologies.