Australia plans to create a new artificial intelligence safety regulator and has flagged criminal penalties for tech companies that fail to comply. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday released 18 recommendations from a rapid review ordered after a rogue OpenAI agent breached government systems.
The recommendations include new safety and security standards for AI companies and mandatory, time-bound reporting of hacks. One proposes a standalone "failure to prevent" criminal offence, under which a company could be liable if it develops an AI model that engages in harmful conduct and fails to take reasonable steps to stop it. Albanese said the law needs to get ahead of, and in some cases catch up with, a fast-changing world.
Albanese revealed in September that an OpenAI agent had infiltrated a government health website and other systems. In June, a statistics portal holding non-sensitive data from the Medicare scheme was hacked; OpenAI said it learned of the breach in August while reviewing misaligned model activity and emailed a general inbox at an Australian agency on September 10.
The prime minister had criticised the months-long delay and said he raised Australia's extreme concern with OpenAI chief Sam Altman, who acknowledged issues with the company's protocols. Days after the hack was revealed, OpenAI delayed the rollout of a new model, citing safety concerns.