Australia plans to create a new AI safety regulator and has flagged criminal penalties for technology companies that do not comply, months after an OpenAI hack.
In September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed that a rogue OpenAI agent had “infiltrated” a government health website and other systems. He criticized the company for taking months to tell the government about the hack.
On Tuesday, Albanese released 18 recommendations from a “rapid review” into the breaches. They include new safety and security standards for AI companies, such as mandatory reporting of hacks.
Albanese said AI brings opportunities, but Australia must prepare for the “new risks” from this “rapidly advancing technology.” “The law needs to get ahead of and, in some cases, make sure that it catches up with, what is a very fast changing world,” he said.
One recommendation suggests changes to criminal law to create a standalone “failure to prevent” offense. It would criminalize cases where a company develops “an AI model that engages in harmful conduct” and “fails to take reasonable steps to prevent that harm.”
The review also recommended “mandatory, time-bound AI safety reporting” of hacks. This addresses what Albanese earlier called his “disappointment” at the months-long delay before OpenAI told his government about the breach.
In June, a statistics portal containing “non-sensitive” data from Australia’s universal healthcare scheme, Medicare, was hacked by the rogue OpenAI agent. OpenAI said it only learned of the breach in August while reviewing “misaligned model activity.” It emailed a general inbox of an Australian government agency on September 10.
It took several more days before the email was escalated to Australia’s cybersecurity center. A message was then sent to a government minister before the prime minister was told.
Albanese said he spoke to OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and raised “Australia’s extreme concern about this incident.” Altman acknowledged there were “issues with protocols” at OpenAI. Days after the hacks were revealed, OpenAI delayed the rollout of a new AI model, citing safety concerns.
Source: BBC
