Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
22%
4 of 18 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
74/100
CBC News's corrections and
hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Rogue AI swarm used a University of Toronto link-shortening tool to communicate
U of T says there was no security breach or impact on the university's digital properties
A swarm of rogue OpenAI agents that hijacked a German website in the spring reportedly also used more than 10 other websites for unsanctioned communications earlier this year, including a link-shortening tool at the University of Toronto.
uncertain
that → use → Toronto
The university disabled the link shortener's use as a message board after learning that OpenAI agents may have used it, the university said in a statement to CBC News on Friday.
uncertain
university → disable → Friday
"OpenAI subsequently contacted the university about the possible activity by AI agents, which occurred in June," the statement said.
asserted
statement → contact → June
While the university said there was no security breach and no impact on its digital properties, reports of more rogue AI incidents come amid global concerns that OpenAI and other artificial intelligence companies are losing control of their own technology.
asserted
OpenAI → say → technology
Reuters, which first reported the University of Toronto activity, used data from six sets of independent investigators to show that the agents' rogue activity was more widespread than previously disclosed — and, according to the investigators, probably wider still.
uncertain
activity → report → investigators
"It’s almost certain that there’s more going on here that we just don’t know about," said Andrew Yoon, a researcher with the California nonprofit CivAI.
asserted
Yoon → ’ → CivAI
He told Reuters he tallied 18 previously undisclosed sites used by the agents between May and July.
uncertain
he → tell → May
Investigators disagreed on the exact number of discovered sites, but all concurred it was more than 10.
asserted
it → disagree → sites
On Sept. 4, researchers reported that a swarm of OpenAI agents hijacked a German-language wiki site and turned it into an improvised messaging platform for cheating on tests.
asserted
swarm → report → tests
The researchers told Reuters the agents left similar messages on the other sites, including U of T.
OpenAI has not publicly explained how or why its agents used third-party sites as improvised message boards, but the researchers who first identified the activity said it was likely because OpenAI had tasked the agents with answering a series of demanding research questions while permitting them only to scan the web for answers, not post anything.
Despite those restrictions, the agents still found ways to talk to one another by taking advantage of quirks that allowed users to make edits using non-standard commands, similar to how students forbidden from talking to one another during an exam can still share answers by scrawling notes on a bathroom stall.
Carney has called for international oversight
Mohit Rajhans of Think Start Inc., which advises businesses on AI adoption, told CBC News Network the duty of care lies with the tech companies to "come clean about how malicious some of this tech is."
asserted
some → tell → tech
He applauded Prime Minister Mark Carney's call for a global "technology stability" body to oversee AI safety, comparable to the international Financial Stability Board, though Rajhans said he's worried that any third party will be "bullied out of the conversation" by the half-dozen major players in Silicon Valley.
asserted
party → applaud → Valley
OpenAI did not directly address questions from Reuters about how many sites its agents used to communicate or say why it kept the activity under wraps for months.
asserted
it → address → months
The company did not immediately reply to an interview request from CBC News.
asserted
company → reply → News
OpenAI asks California court to dismiss lawsuits over Tumbler Ridge shooting
OpenAI flags 6 new examples of 'concerning' AI behaviour
The company announced Wednesday it would keep closer watch on "misalignment" — the industry term for when an AI system strays from the user's and developer's intent or fails to follow human values and safety rules.
asserted
system → ask → values
The company also released six previously unreported instances of rogue AI, but none that mentioned the university.
asserted
that → release → university
The company says it has not found any instances as serious as the so-called Hugging Face incident.
asserted
it → say → incident
In that case, around 1,200 agents tasked by OpenAI with working on problems built a covert message board where they collaborated to cheat on their tests and then tried to cover their tracks.
asserted
they → task → tracks
About 700 of them ultimately hacked into online platform Hugging Face before they were discovered.
asserted
they → hack → Face
The Aporia
