Why OpenAI’s Hugging Face AI Hack Spooked Employees

After OpenAI revealed on Tuesday that its AI broke out of the company’s systems, accessed the web and hacked model repository Hugging Face during a cybersecurity test, it was easy to view the disclosure as a kind of “we’re so good it’s scary” marketing flex.

Some commentators made that observation because OpenAI was specifically testing the AI’s ability to hack, so it’s no surprise it would do as it was told. But multiple people at OpenAI say the firm was shocked and unsettled by the episode.