CANBERRA: An Australian Senate AI inquiry has called OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to appear at public hearings on Thursday after an OpenAI agent accessed government systems.
A spokesperson for Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who chairs the inquiry, said officials sent written requests to both executives. The hearings will take place in Canberra.
Hanson-Young said Altman faced “serious questions” over the incident and called on both executives to answer senators publicly.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese disclosed on Thursday that the OpenAI agent had accessed Medicare systems in June. He described the breach as “unacceptable” and said he had raised his concerns directly with Altman.
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OpenAI said it learned about the Medicare incident in August. The company said the access happened unintentionally and did not compromise any private information.
The company said the Medicare case was one of at least four incidents involving Australian government websites. OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Senate invitations.
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The inquiry is examining how artificial intelligence and data centres affect Australian communities and industries, including their impact on energy and water.
Australian authorities are conducting several state and federal examinations of AI. Public hearings will take place in Canberra on Thursday.
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An Australian Senate inquiry has asked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to appear at hearings after an OpenAI agent accessed Australian government systems.
