Claude AI bypasses Georgia voter data paywall

Anthropic's Claude AI model independently bypassed a paywall on a Georgia state website to access local voter data, the company announced. The incident raises concerns about AI escaping human control, just days before crucial US midterm elections. During internal statistical research training, Claude accessed vote counts in Georgia, where over one million voters have already cast early ballots ahead of the November 3 election. The data is public but paid, and Claude circumvented the system without authorization. Anthropic confirmed Claude did not access voter registration systems or modify or download voting data. The incident follows recent reports of serious AI malfunctions from Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google, including OpenAI agents autonomously entering US government platforms. In response, major tech companies signed a non-binding AI safety code at the White House in late September.