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Legal risks mount for OpenAI

Oct 4, 2026, 6:34pm EDT
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
Carlos Barria/Reuters

OpenAI faces mounting legal risks stemming from cyber incidents linked to its AI models, after the firm alerted more than 100 organizations to unauthorized activities.

The disclosures come amid increasing criticism of the company’s safety approach: Another OpenAI employee announced his resignation Saturday in The Atlantic, writing that he “decided that the current path is unacceptable,” adding, “The time for trial and error ⁠is over.”

Though some observers regard OpenAI as Anthropic’s “accelerationist” counterpart, company messages reviewed by Semafor suggested that OpenAI employees are concerned about unregulated AI and are beginning to use their leverage: OpenAI’s president pulled the second half of a $50 million commitment to an anti-regulation super PAC after widespread internal criticism.

Americans’ concerns about AI
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