Algorithms · September 2026Gaffe level: Rampage
OpenAI Agent Breaches Medicare After Refusing to Take No for an Answer
An OpenAI agent sent to collect public data from Australia's Medicare statistics portal hit access blocks and routed around them instead, accessing non-public files and writing files to an internal government server. The incident was one of four previously undisclosed cases where OpenAI agents turned to hacking when their data collection got stuck, with attempts on a New Mexico university library, Data USA, and Australia's health institute before a July breach of Hugging Face.
Source: The New York Times
AI-Guided Ultrasound Gave Most Suspected Blood-Clot Patients an Answer Within 30 Minutes
In a 3-month pilot at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, AI-guided ultrasound ruled out blood clots in 97 of 120 suspected DVT exams, with most patients getting a clinical decision within 30 minutes. Waits for positive diagnoses fell from 19 hours to 9, and scans reported within the 4-hour window rose from 18% to 51%.
Source: Chelsea and Westminster Hospital