The Australian Senate inquiry into artificial intelligence is seeking answers from the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic following the reported hacking of a government health database by an OpenAI bot.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have received written requests to appear before the inquiry, which will hold public hearings in Canberra on Thursday. The request was issued by Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who chairs the probe.
The development comes days after the disclosure of a breach involving Medicare, one of Australia’s most widely used government agencies. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident.
“There are serious questions for Sam Altman to answer about the OpenAI hack of Australian government websites,” Hanson-Young said in a statement. Altman and Amodei “must front up, face the Senate’s questions and have an honest conversation about what effective, lasting regulation of this industry should look like”, she said.
The inquiry is examining how AI and data centres could affect Australian communities, industries, water resources and energy. It is also one of several state and federal investigations examining AI.
The Medicare incident could add to pressure on Albanese’s Labor government as it prepares AI-specific laws for next year. It may also add to existing tensions between Australia and the US over technology policy, including Canberra’s ban on social media for teenagers, according to tech policy experts.
Albanese disclosed the June Medicare breach on Thursday and called it “unacceptable”. He also said he had expressed “extreme concern” to Altman.
OpenAI said it only became aware of the breach in August. The company said the incident was not intentional and did not compromise private information. It also said the incident involved one of at least 4 Australian government websites.
OpenAI and Anthropic had not immediately responded to requests for comment outside business hours.
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