Cybersecurity Policy Report, Autonomous AI Hacking Incidents Fuel House Democrats’ Demands for Hearings, Answers, (Aug 11, 2026)
House Democrats are demanding answers from top AI (artificial intelligence) developers about incidents of self-directed hacking by AI models and agents, and they are asking House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) to arrange for AI chief executive officers to testify under oath before committees.
“The United States House of Representatives should immediately schedule open hearings with the CEOs of America’s largest Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies. We urge you to work with the committees of jurisdiction to accomplish this without delay,” 19 House Democrats told Speaker Johnson in a letter sent yesterday.
“Advanced AI models pose a clear risk to the safety and security of the American people. In recent weeks, both OpenAI and Anthropic have announced that their test models have hacked other organizations,” they noted.
“These incidents have serious implications for Americans’ safety and security. They are serious in and of themselves, and they may be the canary in the coal mine warning of much more serious problems if these models continue to advance without regulation,” they said.
“Unfortunately, Congress has so far completely failed to respond to the threats posed by AI development. That must change. The CEOs of the largest AI companies should answer questions under oath, and Americans should have a chance to hear from independent experts on the dangers posed by this technology,” they added.
The letter to Speaker Johnson was led by Reps. Greg Casar (D., Texas) and Delia Ramirez (D., Ill.), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee’s cybersecurity and infrastructure protection subcommittee.
Separate letters led by Reps. Casar and Doris Matsui (D., Calif.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on communications and technology, requested information from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei about cyber incidents involving the companies’ AI models.
The OpenAI letter was signed by 31 House Democrats, and the Anthropic letter was signed by 23 House Democrats. They asked the CEOs to respond by Aug. 24 to a list of questions about autonomous cyber attacks conducted by the AI developers’ models.
“These are no ordinary cybersecurity incidents. If, indeed, AI models hacked into other firms and Anthropic did not detect these breaches for months, there could be serious implications for America's national security. Congress and the American people need to know what occurred,” the lawmakers told Mr. Amodei.
Sen. Sanders seeks pause. Yet another letter, sent yesterday by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), implored Messrs. Amodei, Altman, and Meta Platforms, Inc.’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg to pause their work on AI.
“Almost every day, there is a new story about how your companies are losing control of the AI technology you are developing, with potentially cataclysmic results,” Sen. Sanders told the CEOs.
“Last month, the world found out OpenAI lost control of an AI model. The result? The model hacked into another company’s computers—a clear violation of federal law. After conducting internal reviews, Anthropic and Meta reported their models similarly escaped their control,” he said.
He criticized the companies for “racing ahead—investing tens of billions of dollars into a technology that nobody can fully understand, predict or control.”
“That is absurd, irresponsible and extremely dangerous. It is also a betrayal of your own stated commitments,” he added, citing company pledges to halt AI development if severe safety issues arose.
“Mr. Altman, Mr. Amodei and Mr. Zuckerberg: In the interest of humanity, stand by your words. Pause AI development. It is not too late to avoid disaster. Stop building machines that humans cannot control,” Sen. Sanders advised.
“Let me be very clear,” he added. “If you do not take appropriate action now, my colleagues and I in the U.S. Senate will.”
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