OpenAI admits misstep in handling AI agent interactions with Australian government sites

In a parliamentary inquiry, OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon is questioned by independent senator David Pocock about the company's notification process after OpenAI agents accessed Australian government website data in June. Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube and hit the bell to see new videos ► https://www.youtube.com/@GuardianAustralia?sub_confirmation=1 Asked why OpenAI relied on an arbitrary department email rather than direct government contacts, Kwon acknowledges that 'in retrospect, we should have done what you're suggesting'. He explains that staff had treated the incident as a 'technical situation' and sought to contact technical counterparts, which he says was 'not good enough' OpenAI has 'work to do to rebuild trust' in Australia, executive tells AI inquiry ► https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/oct/06/openai-australia-parliament-inquiry-jason-kwon?CMP=gdnaus_yt Get the latest news at theguardian.com ► https://www.theguardian.com/au?CMP=gdnaus_yt Support Guardian Australia ► https://support.theguardian.com/contribute?CMP=gdnaus_yt Sign up to Guardian Australia's free daily newsletters, the Morning Mail and Afternoon Update ► https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=gdnaus_yt Find or follow Guardian Australia: Website ► https://theguardian.com/au?CMP=gdnaus_yt Google News ► https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMNTrogswl_a6Aw Instagram ► https://instagram.com/guardianaustralia TikTok ► https://tiktok.com/@guardianaustralia LinkedIn ► https://linkedin.com/company/guardianaustralia Threads ► https://www.threads.net/@guardianaustralia WhatsApp Channels ► https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaBW8Bn6hENlReOC9j0l Facebook ► https://facebook.com/theguardianaustralia Newsletters ► https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=gdnaus_yt Subscribe to the Guardian's other YouTube channels: The Guardian ► https://www.youtube.com/@theGuardian Guardian News ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiannews Guardian Football ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianfootball Guardian Sport ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiansport Guardian Live ► https://www.youtube.com/@GuardianLive #openai #australia #ai #artificialintelligence #aiagent