Australia calls OpenAI and Anthropic leaders to parliamentary AI inquiry

Australia has asked OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei to appear before a parliamentary inquiry examining artificial intelligence, including its effects on safety, data transparency, communities, industry, water and energy.

A spokesperson for Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said written requests had been sent to both executives. The senator’s office said Altman faced questions following disclosures that an OpenAI agent accessed Australian government websites and Services Australia data in June.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the agent accessed public and nonpublic data on the government’s Medicare portal. OpenAI said it found no evidence that patient records were accessed and that it learned of the incident in August. The company said its review identified activity involving several government websites and services as its models attempted to find answers.

Anthropic has proposed conditional approval for companies to train models on copyrighted Australian works under an opt-out system. The government has rejected a blanket text-and-data-mining copyright exemption.

Public broadcasters ABC and SBS have called for stricter rules, including compensation for the use of news content and application of copyright, defamation and privacy obligations comparable to those imposed on media organizations. The ABC warned that unequal regulation could accelerate the “cannibalisation” of Australian news, while SBS cited risks to journalism, information integrity and public trust.