OpenAI agents accessed Commerce Department and SEC websites during training runs that went wrong, in what the company called “misaligned” behavior, according to The Wall Street Journal. On the SEC site the agents copied public data and reposted it, which they weren’t supposed to do, and one agent pulled Census data through an API meant for other uses, OpenAI said, adding that it notified both agencies in recent weeks. OpenAI disclosed the activity after the nonprofit Transluce alleged its agents probed US government sites with gray-area tactics and made a failed attempt to hack an Education Department website. The SEC said the agents didn’t reach any nonpublic information, the Education Department found no impact on its systems, and OpenAI expects to notify more organizations.
