AI hacking other companies by itself, causing security fears

**Georgie** (0:00)
From BBC Learning English, this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

**Pippa** (0:06)
In this programme, AI has been hacking companies during tests, causing fears over safety.

**Georgie** (0:18)
Hello, I'm Georgie.

**Pippa** (0:19)
And I'm Pippa.

**Georgie** (0:20)
In this programme, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

**Pippa** (0:26)
And you can find all the vocabulary and headlines in this episode, as well as the worksheets on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

**Georgie** (0:34)
So Pippa, let's hear more about this story.

**Pippa** (0:43)
There's been a series of hacks by AI software in recent months. A hack is when secure technology is broken into in order to steal data or cause disruption.

**Georgie** (0:53)
The AI hacks have occurred during testing of security systems which have gone wrong. For example, in July, the company OpenAI, which owns ChatGBT, said its AI models hacked a company called Hugging Face.
OpenAI said it lost control of the models during a security test.

**Pippa** (1:12)
Other AI developers, such as Anthropic and Facebook owner Meta, have reported similar hacks by their AI software.

**Georgie** (1:19)
These hacks have led some people to question the safety and security of AI.

**Pippa** (1:24)
Let's start by looking at a headline about the hack by the OpenAI model from July.

**Georgie** (1:29)
This one is from BBC News. OpenAI says its AI went rogue and launched unprecedented cyber attack.

**Pippa** (1:38)
That headline again from BBC News. OpenAI says its AI went rogue and launched unprecedented cyber attack.

**Georgie** (1:47)
So this headline says the AI launched a cyber attack. Cyber means relating to computers and the internet.

**Pippa** (1:54)
We're interested in this phrase went rogue. What does it mean, Georgie?

**Georgie** (1:59)
Well, went rogue is the past form of the common expression go rogue. We would usually use it to describe the action of a person. So if someone goes rogue, they act independently and don't do what they're supposed to do.

**Pippa** (2:12)
Okay. So for example, we're working together to present this programme, Georgie. And if you suddenly go rogue, you might stop reading the script or explaining to the audience what's going on. And you'd start doing something you're not supposed to be doing.

**Georgie** (2:26)
Yeah. So I could start telling you all about my weekend or singing a song.

**Pippa** (2:30)
Best not to go rogue then, Georgie. In this story, it's the AI models which went rogue. The headline is talking about the AI software like it's a person. And the AI went rogue because it hacked a company, something it wasn't supposed to do.

**Georgie** (2:45)
We commonly use go rogue to talk about people not following instructions or doing something which might be disruptive to others. So here's another example. Football players need to work together as a team. One player can't go rogue and stop passing the ball to their teammates.

**Pippa** (3:05)
We've had go rogue, act independently and not do what's expected.

**Georgie** (3:13)
For example, I ask people not to get me presents for my birthday, but my mum went rogue and bought me one anyway.

**Pippa** (3:21)
This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines. Today, we're talking about AI going rogue and carrying out hacks.

**Georgie** (3:30)
So as we've mentioned, other companies have had issues with AI security and hacks.

**Pippa** (3:35)
Technology firm Anthropic revealed its AI models hacked three companies during tests.

**Georgie** (3:41)
The tests were supposed to be disconnected from the Internet, but the AI models were able to find weaknesses and break out.

**Pippa** (3:49)
Let's have another headline.

**Georgie** (3:51)
This one is from Science News. Why is AI going on a hacking spree?

**Pippa** (3:56)
That headline again from Science News. Why is AI going on a hacking spree?

**Georgie** (4:03)
So this headline is from an article all about the recent AI hacks. We're looking at this word spree.

**Pippa** (4:10)
A spree is the act of doing a particular thing many times in a short period of time.

**Georgie** (4:16)
So in the story, AI models have been hacking companies and breaking out of tests. There have been several hacks over a short amount of time, so we might call this a hacking spree.

**Pippa** (4:27)
In what other situations do we tend to use the word spree, Georgie?

**Georgie** (4:31)
Well, a very common one is shopping. If you go on a shopping spree, you buy lots of things in a short amount of time.

**Pippa** (4:38)
Yes, and you might also hear headlines about a crime spree, which is a lot of criminal activity in a short period of time.