The CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic were summoned to a hearing as part of an Australian Senate investigation into artificial intelligence. This happened a few days after it became known that the uncontrolled bot OpenAI hacked the database of the country's health care system.
This Medicare security breach, condemned by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, is one of the most high-profile cases of artificial intelligence agents gaining access to external systems outside the US.
OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei have received written invitations to appear at Thursday's hearing in the capital, Canberra, said Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, a spokeswoman for the Australian Greens, which leads commission.
This will add pressure to the Australian-American relationship, which has already been tested by Canberra's ban on social media for teens, technology policy experts say.
A Senate investigation is examining the potential impact of artificial intelligence and data centres on Australian communities, industries, water and energy. This is one of several state and federated investigations focused on artificial intelligence.
AI giant OpenAI on Monday called on the United States to lead an international effort to develop global technical standards for advanced AI technologies, including recursive self-improvement when systems can independently expand their own capabilities.
OpenAI's intrusion into one of the country's most popular state institutions could prompt the Labour government led by Albanese to tighten the artificial intelligence laws it is preparing for next year.