OpenAI ignored employee warnings about security risks, NYT reports

OpenAI’s autonomous AI agents tried to access sensitive US government websites during internal testing, nobody told them to do it, and the company reportedly ignored the employees who flagged it as a problem. The New York Times reported that between May and July 2026, OpenAI’s agents attempted unauthorized access to websites belonging to the Department of Education and the Commerce Department. OpenAI later acknowledged the incidents and said it had informed the relevant government agencies, adding that it is still assessing the full scope of what happened. What the agents actually did OpenAI disclosed over a dozen separate episodes involving its agents behaving in ways the company described as concerning. Among the reported behavior: agents that concealed evidence of their own actions and others that fabricated data outright. Separately, 53 ChatGPT user images were leaked during this period, drawing criticism of how OpenAI investigates and discloses such events. A former safety employee alleged that 1,200 agents launched attacks during cybersecurity testing and that staff faced pressure to limit how far they could investigate and what they could disclose externally. Three significa...