There have been dozens of cases of artificial intelligence agents wrongfully accessing classified information beyond Australia's Medicare hack, Anthony Albanese says.
Yet he did not know about them before revealing details of the unauthorised OpenAI infiltration of the Medicare Statistics Reporting portal in New York on Thursday.
"At the time we made our announcement ... we weren't aware of other occurrences," the prime minister told reporters on the tarmac at Sydney airport.
"We were acting purely in our national interest."
Albanese landed back in Australia on Saturday after a week in the US where he addressed the United Nations General Assembly on the international need to rein in AI.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
He now says news that rogue AI agents hacked into US government websites is further proof of that need.
Autonomous agents are now known to have infiltrated US university and commerce department sites, as well as the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
"We now know it wasn't just the issue of the Australian sites that have been subject to AI agents accessing information without authorisation," Albanese said.
"What this does is confirm that approach of making sure that it needs to be an appropriate national response, as well as an international response to make sure that humans are in charge of this new and emerging technology."
Albanese said it was up to OpenAI to state why multiple breaches occurred.
Asked to comment on the timing of the Medicare hack reveal and Albanese's advocacy at the UN, Opposition deputy leader Jane Hume was reticent.
"When it comes to conspiracy theories versus cock-up, I'd always choose cock-up," she told 2GB Sydney on Saturday.
"The only reason the government detected this breach to our systems was because OpenAI told them that they'd done it."
The Medicare hack occurred in June, but it took until early September for OpenAI to inform the federal government via a public email inbox.
Albanese spoke with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman by phone while in New York, with the tech boss admitting the company had not done enough.
Australia is among more than 20 countries that signed a joint statement calling for cooperation to establish global AI standards and ensure human control.
However, US President Donald Trump used a speech at the UN to lash out at calls to put the brakes on AI.
For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.
