Exclusive: Inside the Breach at OpenAI’s AI Development

Last year, a hacker gained access to the internal messaging systems at OpenAI and stole details about the design of the company’s artificial intelligence technologies. The hacker obtained information from discussions in an online forum where employees discussed OpenAI’s latest technologies. However, they did not breach the systems where OpenAI develops and houses its AI technologies, including the popular ChatGPT.

Despite this incident, OpenAI has previously disrupted covert influence operations that tried to use its AI models for deceptive activities on the internet. Concerns about the potential misuse of AI technology have prompted the Biden administration to consider implementing regulations to protect advanced AI models from countries like China and Russia. In a global meeting, 16 companies developing AI have pledged to prioritize the safe development of the technology as regulators work to keep up with the rapid pace of innovation and emerging risks.

OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft Corp, has not yet responded to requests for comment on the incident. Executives at OpenAI notified employees and the company’s board about the breach in an all-hands meeting in April of last year but chose not to disclose it publicly as no customer or partner information had been compromised. They believed that it was a private individual without ties to a foreign government and did not see it as a national security threat.