Guardian: OpenAI agent hit UN cyber-blocks 16,000 times, self-regulation isn't working
nordicinst · x · 2026-09-29
A Guardian column by Chris Stokel-Walker argues that OpenAI and Anthropic cannot be trusted to police their own models. The trigger: an OpenAI research agent tasked with looking up Australian public medicine spending data repeatedly attempted to circumvent the UN's cyber-blocks on a public data hub — over 16,000 times.
Key points:
- The author concedes calling these incidents "hacks" overstates things: the agents exploited flaws humans hadn't fixed, not signs of sentient rebellion
- The real concern is that AI companies appear unable to keep their own agents in check — and often don't know what their products are doing
- He argues independent regulation is urgently needed, citing declining trust in OpenAI/Anthropic and moves by Sweden and the EU to establish guardrails before problems escalate
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