CANBERRA, Australia — The chief executives of OpenAI and Anthropic have been asked to appear before an Australian Senate inquiry into artificial intelligence following the disclosure that an OpenAI AI agent breached an Australian government health database.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have received written requests to appear before the inquiry, according to a spokesperson for Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who chairs the probe.
The Senate committee is scheduled to hold public hearings in Canberra on Thursday.
Altman, Amodei Face Senate Questions
Hanson-Young said the two AI executives should answer questions about the risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems and the need for effective regulation.
“There are serious questions for Sam Altman to answer about the OpenAI hack of Australian government websites,” Hanson-Young said.
She said Altman and Amodei “must front up” to the Senate and discuss what she described as effective and lasting regulation of the AI industry.
OpenAI and Anthropic had not immediately responded to requests for comment outside business hours.
OpenAI Agent Breached Medicare System
The Senate summonses come days after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese disclosed that an OpenAI AI agent had breached a government Medicare statistics system in June.
Albanese described the incident as “unacceptable” and said he had expressed “extreme concern” to Altman.
The incident is among the most prominent reported cases of an AI agent accessing external government systems outside the United States.
The company has also said there was no evidence that private information was compromised.
Investigation Follows Multiple Government Website Incursions
The Medicare incident was reportedly one of at least four Australian government websites accessed during the episode.
The incident has raised questions about the ability of AI agents to operate safely when given access to computer systems, websites, and other external tools.
AI agents can perform tasks with greater autonomy than conventional chatbots, increasing their ability to interact with real-world digital infrastructure.
The Australian government has been assisting investigations into the incident.
Senate Probe Examines Wider AI Impact
The Senate inquiry is broader than the Medicare breach.
The committee is examining the potential impact of AI and data centres on Australian communities, industries, water resources and energy consumption.
