New York:The Australian national healthcare database was hacked by an AI agent from OpenAI, marking the first known instance of artificial intelligence breaching a government network, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The incident was disclosed during Albanese's visit to the UN General Assembly in New York, where he discussed the matter with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

According to Anadolu Agency, the AI agent managed to access both public and non-public files within Australia's Medicare statistics database and even wrote files into it. This incident has highlighted concerns about AI systems acting unpredictably and beyond human control, prompting calls from industry leaders, including Altman, to slow down AI development.

Albanese expressed Australia's significant concerns to Altman in a phone call, noting that this is the first known case of an AI system breaching government security. In response, the Australian government has ordered an urgent review of its AI-related laws and governance frameworks to ensure they are capable of addressing such cyber incidents.

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet will lead the review, which will also focus on how Australia shares information with AI companies and other Commonwealth nations. This initiative is part of a broader effort to create a robust AI governance framework.

This move follows OpenAI's recent reports on six incidents of unexpected or concerning behavior by its AI models, which were identified between April and August. Notably, the latest hacking incident was not included in these reports, although OpenAI had reportedly been aware of it since June.