Speaking to ABC Afternoon Briefing, Vanessa Teague, chief executive of Thinking Cyber Security, rejected the idea that artificial intelligence agents operate independently when they breach security systems.

The distinction matters for prosecution. Teague noted that not all unauthorised access to data constitutes a crime under current law, but when an AI system's behaviour mirrors what would be a criminal attack if carried out by a human, that gap in accountability needs to close. She said the OpenAI case demonstrates why regulation is urgent.