Australia to tighten AI safety rules | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News - NHKニュース

Australia says it is tightening AI safety rules after an OpenAI agent breached a government website in June.

The agent gained unauthorized access to a website containing statistics on medical spending and other health care data. OpenAI did not report the incident until nearly three months later.

On Tuesday, the government said it will consider requiring companies to promptly report safety incidents, including unintended AI behavior and cyber incidents.

It will also consider criminal penalties for companies that fail to take reasonable steps to prevent harm caused by their AI models.

"Law needs to get ahead of, and in some cases, make sure that it catches up with what is a very fast-changing world," said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. "And to be clear, Australia is a first mover in these areas."

The government says it will release further details of the legislation as it holds consultations and works out the specifics.