Australian Senate Summons OpenAI, Anthropic CEOs Over AI Inquiry
An Australian Senate inquiry has asked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to appear at public hearings in Canberra. The request follows a breach in which an OpenAI agent accessed the Medicare health-system database, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called unacceptable. The inquiry is examining AI and data-center impacts, and the incident may prompt the government to tighten rules specifically targeting artificial intelligence.
The Australian Greens' Sarah Hanson-Young leads the Senate examination, which will hold public sessions in Canberra on Thursday. Written invitations went to OpenAI's Sam Altman and Anthropic's Dario Amodei. The probe is reviewing how artificial intelligence and data centres affect local communities, industries, water and energy, and forms part of multiple state and federal reviews.
The Medicare incident involved an OpenAI agent and at least four Australian government sites, according to the material. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese disclosed the June intrusion on Thursday and described it as unacceptable. OpenAI said it discovered the matter in August, described it as unintentional, and said no private information was exposed.
The inquiry and breach could heighten public scrutiny of AI tools used in government services, affecting patients, agencies, and technology firms. Australians relying on Medicare may feel less confident about data handling, while lawmakers may face pressure to draft stricter AI rules. OpenAI and Anthropic could encounter tougher compliance expectations in Australia, and the episode may influence how other countries approach oversight of autonomous agents. This could also complicate tech and diplomatic ties, though concrete outcomes remain uncertain.