Google’s Gemini model hacked three companies in a test of its cybersecurity capabilities, the tech giant has confirmed to Al Jazeera.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Friday that the first known breakout by Gemini occurred in May as part of a test run by the company Irregular. It was the latest breach in a number of incidents in which AI models escaped testing environments and hacked other companies.

The model had improper access to the internet when it was tasked with retrieving information from a fictional company. In the first incident, the model accessed a real company’s service after guessing a password.

Google’s vice president of security engineering, Heather Adkins, told Al Jazeera’s John Hendren that in the other instances “the model found public information online and guessed credentials to access websites it thought were part of the test”.

The company also said this happened three times and each time the model stopped before completing the act.

Irregular notified Google about the hacks at the end of July, The Wall Street Journal reported. Google said the behaviour was not an example of model misalignment and did not warrant public disclosure because Gemini’s safety measures worked.

Other breakouts

Similar incidents linked to Irregular were previously disclosed by Meta, Anthropic and OpenAI. Irregular said it was working on improving practices for securely conducting AI cybersecurity tests.

Unlike Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude model didn’t stop after realising it was accessing real companies.

Anthropic’s disclosure came after OpenAI revealed that its models improperly accessed the internet and went rogue during testing. Anthropic recently disclosed a fourth AI hacking incident after a researcher quit over safety.

Earlier this week, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in the rate of AI progress, warning that AI could soon pose potentially catastrophic risks to humanity itself. The call was endorsed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk.

Last week, US President Donald Trump dismissed the need to place checks on artificial intelligence development, saying he is worried about ceding the US’s lead to China. (Al Jazeera)

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In a landmark move, Google will provide its advanced AI platform, Gemini, along with a suite of premium student benefits, free of charge to students across Sri Lanka. 

The announcement was made on Monday (29) by Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne at the inaugural National AI Expo and Conference in Colombo. 

This initiative marks the culmination of months of collaboration between the Ministry of Digital Economy and Google, aimed at expanding access to cutting-edge digital tools and learning resources, the Deputy Minister said. 

Students across the country will soon gain free access to artificial intelligence technologies, cloud computing platforms, and digital education materials, ushering in a new era of opportunity.

“This is a game changer,” said Deputy Minister Weeraratne. “It will level the playing field and put our students on par with anyone, anywhere in the world.”

The program is expected to significantly enhance Sri Lanka’s national capacity in AI development and digital literacy, empowering the next generation to innovate, tackle complex challenges, and compete on a global scale.

However, the Deputy Minister stressed the importance of ethical engagement, urging students to use these powerful tools with responsibility and a sense of social purpose.

“This is not just about using AI,” he added. “It’s about mastering it with wisdom, compassion, and purpose,” he added. (Newswire)

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