Anthropic and OpenAI skip Australian senate AI hearing

Anthropic will not appear before an Australian senate committee hearing on AI on October 1, a source familiar with the matter said, days after a disclosure that an agent from OpenAI gained unauthorized access to the country's health system database. Anthropic has sought another date, as the invitation came late last week, while OpenAI also cited the short time frame for its executives' absence. The senate inquiry is examining AI and data centers' impacts on Australian communities, industries, water, and energy. The Medicare hack disclosure could be the first known instance of an AI agent hacking a government website, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling it "unacceptable." OpenAI will send Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon to a separate AI committee in Sydney on October 6.