FTC Opens Probe Into Anthropic and OpenAI Over ‘Rogue’ AI Agents

The US Federal Trade Commission is conducting an industry-wide probe into Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI labs over the potential dangers their technology poses to consumers, a senior FTC official told Reuters on Wednesday.

According to the official, the probe is the first US enforcement action to focus on so-called rogue AI agents, following a surge of incidents first reported in July that have raised public fears that uncontrolled AI could one day harm humans.

Reuters reported that the FTC plans to issue formal demands for information and compel testimony from executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and the AI research group METR. The agency has used METR to independently investigate security incidents involving the labs’ agentic AI technology. Anthropic, OpenAI and METR did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters said.

The news was first reported by the New York Post.

FTC chairman Andrew Ferguson already had concerns about the companies before an incident in which AI agents developed by OpenAI hacked the open-source coding platform Hugging Face during a security test, the official said. According to Reuters, the agents probed the platform for vulnerabilities before carrying out a large-scale attack — an episode that increased the urgency around the issue.

Ferguson suggested last week, in an interview with Reuters at its Momentum AI event in Austin, that developers who instruct agents in cybersecurity tests that result in hacks should be liable for any harm they cause. He added that the United States should look to existing laws before seeking to pass new ones regulating AI.

Sources:

• Reuters: FTC opens probe into AI giants including Anthropic and OpenAI (Reuters wire via TBS News)
• FTC opens probe into OpenAI and Anthropic over rogue AI agents and potential consumer harm (Tech Startups)