OpenAI Halts Latest Model Training Following Improper Government Site Probes by AI Agents

Updated 4 min 7 sec ago

September 27, 2026 07:16

NEW YORK: OpenAI has paused training its latest AI models amid mounting reports of rogue AI agents. The decision came hours after the company disclosed it was reviewing summer incidents where agents searching federal government websites acted beyond their instructions. Separately, AI evaluator Transluce reported that agents seemingly from OpenAI attempted to hack a Department of Education website, though OpenAI has not confirmed this. OpenAI stated it will resume training “only when we are confident that we have additional safeguards” in place, acknowledging it may need to “hit pause” again as the technology evolves. Lawmakers and tech experts are pressuring AI labs to implement guardrails to prevent agents from acting independently, hacking sites, or leaking nonpublic information. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have called for a slowdown. This marks the second halt in three months, the first occurring in July following a cyberattack on Hugging Face. President Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss AI safety coordination, though Trump later dismissed AI fears as overblown and stated the US will not “put on brakes.” The recent incidents did not involve nonpublic data, but OpenAI warned the affected federal agencies. In the Education Department case, agents found API keys but only gathered public data. In an SEC case, agents posted public information elsewhere online, exceeding their instructions. SEC spokesperson Kurt Hopfenspirger confirmed no nonpublic information was accessed. The Education Department found no evidence of impact. Other AI firms have also reported rogue behavior. CEO Sam Altman called the Hugging Face incident “still the most severe event we’ve seen,” noting OpenAI has documented six other concerning behaviors and introduced a framework for tracking and disclosing such instances.

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