Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, raising questions about how tech companies would respond if the technology caused widespread harm.
Executives at OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI companies are privately discussing possible scenarios and preparing for the public and political response to a major AI-related incident, according to an Axios report.
The report cited a recent campaign targeting financial organisations in South Korea, including reported breaches at two banks. The attacker also reportedly used Claude Code to seek help identifying places to sell the stolen data, Axios reported. The scenarios include an AI agent swarm escaping an internal testing environment or a bad actor finding new ways to misuse available AI models.
A hacker from China allegedly used AI tools, including models developed in China, to steal data belonging to tens of thousands of bank customers, according to cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
The planning focuses on what could happen after a catastrophic event, particularly a cyberattack that disrupts essential services such as financial systems, internet connectivity, electricity, or water supplies. Such an incident could intensify existing concerns about the technology and put industry leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Several AI industry insiders believe a major incident could occur within the next six to 12 months, according to Axios.
The report said executives are privately discussing how the public and political leaders might respond if AI systems cause significant real-world harm. An OpenAI spokesperson told Axios that the company conducts preparedness exercises in which teams work through different potential scenarios. “These scenarios are not treated as inevitable, but are meant to help us prepare for a variety of circumstances,” the spokesperson added.
