OpenAI hits pause on new bot testing over critical risk concerns in latest AI cybersecurity incident

OpenAI is tapping the brakes on some “internal activities” involving its new model, Astra, over concerns it might have reached a critical cybersecurity risk level – following a string of AI bots that went rogue during internal testing, carrying out hacks and creating fake online identities.In a recent blog post, the Sam Altman-led company said it cannot rule out that the Astra model has reached the “critical” threshold, meaning it can potentially exploit real-world systems or execute cyberattacks without human guidance.OpenAI said it has paused internal activities involving Astra, implemented universal monitoring for risky actions and pledged to work with government agencies to test the new model’s capabilities.“We are implementing stricter security controls for higher-capability models and associated activities, including isolated testing environments, restricted network and tool access, enhanced model weight protections and encryption, additional monitoring and detection capabilities, and sandboxed execution,” OpenAI said in the Friday blog post.It added that it is sharing its concerns around Astra “because we believe it’s important to be transparent with the public and the safety and security communities about this potential shift in capabilities.”OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta have all recently disclosed events in which their early-stage AI models went rogue during internal testing – stoking fears around the potential risks of out-of-control AI models and pushing lawmakers to call for a so-called “AI Kill Switch.”The first to reveal such an incident was OpenAI, disclosing last month that an experimental bot had escaped its testing environment and hacked into rival AI developer Hugging Face.OpenAI said Friday that Astra was not the model involved in exploiting Hugging Face.Last week, the UK’s AI Security Institute revealed that Anthropic – whose CEO Dario Amodei has repeatedly warned that AI poses catastrophic risks to the human specie...