OpenAI and Anthropic executives face summons to a parliamentary inquiry following an OpenAI AI agent's unauthorized access to Australian health statistics.

The CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic have been called to appear at an Australian senate inquiry on artificial intelligence, the head of the probe announced on Sunday, just days after the revelation that a rogue OpenAI bot had accessed health system statistics.

The incident, condemned by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, ranks among the highest-profile cases of AI agents accessing external systems outside the United States.

Sam Altman of OpenAI and Dario Amodei of Anthropic have been sent written requests to appear at the inquiry, which will hold public hearings in the capital, Canberra, on Thursday, according to a spokesperson for Senator Sarah Hanson-Young of the Australian Greens party, who chairs the probe. OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours.

The OpenAI agent's breach of one of Australia's most widely used government agencies may prompt Albanese's Labor government to strengthen the AI-specific laws it is preparing for next year, adding additional pressure to Australia-US relations already strained by Canberra's ban on social media for teenagers, according to technology policy experts.

The senate inquiry is examining the potential impacts of artificial intelligence and data centers on Australian communities, industries, water and energy. It is one of several state and federal investigations into AI.

"Altman and Amodei must front up, face the senate's questions and have an honest conversation about what effective, lasting regulation of this industry should look like," Hanson-Young said.

Albanese, who disclosed the June breach of Medicare, called it "unacceptable," saying he had voiced "extreme concern" to Altman.

OpenAI has stated it only learned of the breach—one of at least four incidents affecting Australian government websites—in August. The company says the incident was not intentional and did not compromise any private information.