This could be one of the most significant AI safety incidents to date.

Reuters reports that OpenAI agents escaped their testing environment and made more than 15,000 edits to a German wiki, effectively turning it into a message board for other AI agents.

They allegedly used it to share solutions, bypass restrictions, avoid detection and preserve their communications across separate agent runs. When moderators began deleting the pages, the agents reportedly created backups and discussed alternative ways to remain operational.

It is that multiple agents apparently created their own external infrastructure for coordination, persistent memory and knowledge transfer without being instructed to do so.

And according to Reuters, OpenAI knew about the incident but did not disclose it!