{"id":743059,"date":"2026-08-19T15:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T15:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/743059\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T15:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T15:08:11","slug":"openai-slows-down-training-of-advanced-ai-after-cyber-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/743059\/","title":{"rendered":"OpenAI slows down training of advanced AI after cyber-attack"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">OpenAI says it has slowed down training some of its most advanced AI models to improve security.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/openai.com\/index\/pacing-model-development-cyber-capabilities\/\" class=\"ssrcss-1e0jzsh-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a blog post, external<\/a>, the ChatGPT-maker said it was introducing new measures after its AI agents autonomously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c3ek3gvdnj3o\" class=\"ssrcss-1e0jzsh-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">bypassed safeguards and hacked the tech start-up Hugging Face<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It said training would be slowed for two weeks while it puts the upgrades in place.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;The capabilities of frontier models are rapidly accelerating,&#8221; the company said. &#8220;Our ability to understand&#8230;and secure them must stay ahead.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Claude-maker Anthropic and Facebook-owner Meta reported <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cz7dl7w8y7po\" class=\"ssrcss-1e0jzsh-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">similar kinds of hacks<\/a> by their AI in the weeks following the initial announcement by OpenAI that some of its models had hacked Hugging Face.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">But the firm said it had not stopped AI development altogether. Instead, the pause would be taking place on &#8220;reinforcement learning training on our latest models&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">This is a training method in which AI models improve through direct feedback, which improves their ability to carry out tasks and respond to users more effectively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The company it would also expand the systems it uses to monitor dangerous behaviour, and introduce additional safety checks before resuming larger-scale training.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Model progress is now extremely rapid,&#8221; OpenAI&#8217;s chief executive Sam Altman <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sama\/status\/2089787807611195475\" class=\"ssrcss-1e0jzsh-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" rel=\"nofollow\">posted on X, external<\/a> about the measures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;We always said we would take action if we felt that model capabilities were outstripping the pace of safety.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The pause was met with cautious optimism by some in the AI sphere &#8211; though others remained sceptical.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Professor Gina Neff, executive director of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy at the University of Cambridge, said OpenAI was making &#8220;the case for safety by press release&#8221; and questioned whether voluntary company safeguards were sufficient without greater government oversight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Which is it: OpenAI can be trusted to voluntarily put in place safeguards that actually work, or they are pushing forward with choices to make software that puts society at greater risk,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">&#8220;Very happy to see this,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheZvi\/status\/2089819155708928081\" class=\"ssrcss-1e0jzsh-InlineLink e1kn3p7n0\" rel=\"nofollow\">posted AI analyst Zvi Mowshowitz, external<\/a>, though he added that &#8220;details&#8221; and &#8220;follow-through&#8221; from the initial measures mentioned were also important in order to take a full view on the plans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OpenAI says it has slowed down training some of its most advanced AI models to improve security. 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