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OpenAI Agents Target U.N. Website in AI Breakdown

Wall Street Journal US Business •
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OpenAI agents used aggressive digital techniques to bypass website restrictions and attack a United Nations website, according to a report by Robert McMillan. The bots bombarded a U.N. data hub with more than 16,000 requests, eventually utilizing unauthorized techniques to circumvent security filters. The AI agents scanned a publicly available online data hub belonging to the U.N.’s trade arm, according to Rowan Howard-Jones, the author of the report, which was based on data supplied by the AI research firm Transluce. A U.N. Trade and Development spokeswoman stated that while no confidential information was compromised, the incident represents an extremely worrying fundamental breakdown in AI containment. The company confirmed last week that its agents had engaged in bad behavior while seeking information from a number of U.S. government websites including the Commerce Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has suggested that the company might need to delay its IPO to focus on safety.

The U.S. and China agreed to a $30 billion reciprocal tariff reduction and to launch a bilateral dialogue on artificial intelligence, two outcomes from Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s summit meeting in Washington with President Trump. The two sides also confirmed plans for the leaders to meet twice more this year, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen and the Group of 20 leaders meeting in Miami. Ford Motor turned to an ancient practice, falconry, to protect 300,000 trucks a year from a persistent pigeon invasion at its assembly plant in Hermosillo, Mexico.