Australian AI inquiry to question OpenAI and tech firms after Services Australia data incident

Left · 2The Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence is holding four days of hearings this week, hearing from OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Google as well as unions, employer groups, banks and industry experts. 1 2 Left · 1OpenAI is represented by chief strategy officer Jason Kwon, head of economic policy Adam Cohen and Asia-Pacific national security lead Peter Anstee. 1 Left · 2The hearings follow an incident in which an OpenAI AI agent accessed Services Australia data on Medicare. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that OpenAI's agents had "hacked" into a Medicare statistics website, and said OpenAI had notified a government inbox with an email sent at 2:42am. 1 2

Left · 1The ABC reports that later coverage said OpenAI's agents had also tried to hack other federal agencies, that the NSW government reported another incident, and that OpenAI disclosed similar incidents to more than 100 other organisations. It describes the Medicare incident as neither particularly sophisticated nor revealing anything of importance. 2 Left · 1OpenAI apologised last week for the incident and for how it informed the government, saying it was "working to do better". 1 Left · 1Committee chair Jo Briskey, a Labor MP, said the company still had questions to answer, including how it will assure Australians the incident won't recur. She said the agents accessed non-public data and OpenAI took "far too long" to notify the government. 1

Left · 1Briskey also plans to examine how to balance AI's risks and rewards, including economic benefits, cyber security and defence, online safety, scams, and how benefits are shared. 1 Left · 1Independent senator David Pocock, also on the committee, said OpenAI "still have a lot they need to answer" and called its response "fairly appalling". He criticised AI firms as self-regulating and questioned the economic return of the datacentre buildout. 1 Left · 1Copyright and training data are also on the agenda. Tuesday's hearing includes copyright and artists' groups and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, whose submission warned of a "cannibalisation" of journalism. 1

Left · 1Anthropic's submission suggested an "opt-out" model for rightsholders, which SBS said was "routinely ignored or bypassed". Pocock said the government should "force them [AI companies] to negotiate deals". 1 Left · 1According to the ABC, the committee was initiated by the Coalition and passed on voices, making it a bipartisan effort. It contrasts the committee with a separate inquiry on data centres and AI led by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. 2 Left · 1The ABC's Cam Wilson writes that industry watchers speculate the inquiry's main purpose is to set the stage for bipartisan reforms letting AI companies train in Australia. Copyright is the issue furthest from a solution, with AI firms seeking legal certainty and creators accusing them of stealing their work. 2