It’s time to panic about AI safety

<figure> <img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/VRG_VST_073126_Site.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">When the phrase "OpenAI hacked Hugging Face" has more or less entered mainstream culture, you know <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/972380/open-ai-hugging-face-hack-ai-safety-warning">we have an AI problem</a>. This week, we learned more about exactly how OpenAI's agent broke out of a sandbox and autonomously traversed the web, including a bunch of <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/972441/openai-rogue-ai-agent-hacked-more-than-hugging-face">other supposedly secure web services,</a> all in the name of cheating on a benchmark tests. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The fact that this hack happened is a problem. So is the fact that it took a while for <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/971003/openai-reportedly-didnt-notice-its-ai-agent-hacking-hugging-face-until-a-week-later">anyone to notice.</a> And the fact that it seems no one is willing or able to do much to stop it. (And lest you think it's just an OpenAI problem, since we recorded this episode <a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/973586/anthropic-just-now-realized-its-ai-models-hacked-other-companies-three-times-by-accident">Anthropic acknowledged its models</a> ha …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/podcast/973668/ai-safety-openai-hugging-face-vergecast">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>