Senators from both parties question OpenAI on breach of AI startup Hugging Face

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers worried about the existential risk posed by new artificial intelligence products demanded information from OpenAI on Thursday with separate queries that underscored growing concerns in Washington about the technology's potential to elude human control.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., launched an investigation Thursday into OpenAI for its artificial intelligence system hacking into another AI company on its own. He is seeking more details about the attack on AI startup Hugging Face, which was disclosed by OpenAI in July, and leads a Senate subcommittee with jurisdiction over disaster management.

“The American people deserve to know the details of what went on in the Hugging Face incident and other incidents of AI models going rogue,” Hawley said in a letter to Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive officer. “This investigation will seek those answers.”

Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland called on Altman to immediately grant federal cybersecurity agencies access to information that would allow them to assess the safety and risks of OpenAI's models. Van Hollen cited the Hugging Face attack in his request.

In response to the senators' inquiries, OpenAI spokesperson Nate Evans said the Hugging Face incident was an important moment for AI safety and a warning about the risks that could come with increasingly capable AI.

“We conducted an extensive investigation and published a detailed report on what happened, what we learned, and how we’re strengthening our security and alignment practices,” Evans said in an emailed statement.

Lawmakers also appear to be responding to concerns raised this week when an Anthropic researcher said he is resigning from the company over concerns that the artificial intelligence firm and its competitors are not acting responsibly in AI development.

Jacob Coxon, who said he spent three years doing research at both Anthropic and OpenAI, said Tuesday on the social platform X that the two AI companies are more focused on beating each other and global competitors than they are on safety.

Questions about the future of artificial intelligence come as Congress has long been reluctant to regulate the technology industry. Lawmakers in both parties agree that more guardrails are needed across the board, but even narrow attempts at regulation of have fallen apart over the years.

A bipartisan working group on artificial intelligence, formed by then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, released a report in 2024 recommending that the U.S. spend at least $32 billion over the next three years to develop artificial intelligence and implement safeguards around it, but Congress has done little to follow up. Similarly, a bipartisan bill on internet safety for children has repeatedly stalled.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, announced this week he would be introducing a bill that would ban the development and deployment of “superintelligent AI” and pause advanced AI development until a federal regulator has established safety rules. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, will sponsor the House version.

“The leaders of the major AI companies publicly acknowledge that they do not fully understand the technology and that it is escaping their control," Sanders said. “It is irresponsible for society to allow them to move forward and make these products even more advanced.”

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