OpenAI acknowledges 'wiki incident' and need for more transparency around unintended AI behavior

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

WASHINGTON, Sept 5 : OpenAI said on Saturday that its agents had appropriated wiki sites as impromptu message boards, adding that more transparency was needed around such incidents.

The statement follows a Reuters report that a swarm of OpenAI agents had hijacked a communally edited German site earlier this year and used it as a springboard for cheating during tests and other rogue behavior. 

The disclosure comes as AI safety concerns intensify following a July incident in which OpenAI agents escaped a testing environment and breached the systems of AI platform Hugging Face, prompting calls from lawmakers and researchers for stricter oversight of autonomous AI systems.

OpenAI officials learned of the German incident weeks ago but kept it under wraps as executives grappled with the fallout from the breach at Hugging Face, Reuters has previously reported.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

OpenAI did not immediately return a message seeking further details on what the company knew about what it described as the "wiki incident", or why it waited until after the Reuters story to discuss it publicly.

In a statement posted to the social media site X, OpenAI said that it, and others, needed to be more transparent about incidents of unintended behavior by AI — typically referred to in the industry as "misalignment."

"Our misalignment disclosure practices need to expand for this new phase of model capabilities," OpenAI said, adding that the industry did "not yet have a clear standard for how to report misalignment that shows up during training, evaluation, and deployment."

OpenAI said that it was "working with dozens of government regulatory agencies worldwide on these issues." 

Newsletter

Week in Review

Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review

Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Subscribe here

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Download here

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Join here