Sam Altman and Dario Amodei have been asked to give evidence to an Australian Senate inquiry into AI and data centres, The Guardian reported on September 26. The requests could bring the leaders of OpenAI and Anthropic before a committee examining AI company dealings with Australia and the resources data centres use. The report did not say whether either chief executive had accepted.

The big change

  • What changed: The reported invitations offer the committee a route to ask the leaders of two AI companies about their dealings with government alongside the effects of data centre growth.
  • Why it matters: Those questions concern Australian communities facing proposed data centre development, including demands on water and energy. Public evidence from the companies could be examined against other testimony under the inquiry's existing terms.
  • What to watch: Whether either company agrees to provide a witness, and which subjects the committee puts to them. The reporting does not establish an accepted invitation or an October 1 appearance.

An inquiry already under way

The Senate referred the AI and data centres inquiry to its Environment and Communications References Committee on May 13. Its terms ask whether existing rules adequately manage the growth of Australian data centres, including government deals with global AI companies. The committee is also examining effects on communities, industry, the environment, water and energy. It is due to report by November 16.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young chairs the committee. The Guardian reports that she wants Altman to answer questions publicly about the Australian government website incident and that she challenged the companies' push for AI training reforms against their leaders' warnings about AI risks. Those are the chair's concerns; the committee's formal remit is broader than the incident.

This is a separate parliamentary process from the government review of the Medicare portal incident and existing law. That review concerns what the agent did and whether current legal powers are adequate. The Senate inquiry can take evidence about AI company conduct and data centre policy under its existing terms.

Invitation and hearing schedule

The Guardian reports that hearings will resume in Canberra on October 1. It does not say that either CEO accepted the request or is due to appear on that date. BIG CHANGE could not review a current committee witness program or an individual invitation letter; the requests rest on the Guardian's reporting.

The Senate's witness procedures distinguish an invitation from a summons: a committee summons a witness only after deciding that circumstances warrant one. The Guardian describes requests to appear. It reports no summons and says it contacted OpenAI and Anthropic for comment, without publishing a response from either company.

A subsequent committee program or company response could clarify whether the requests lead to an appearance. The October 1 hearing date does not, on its own, establish a booking for either CEO.

Sources & further reading

  • The Guardian's September 26 report is the original reporting for the requests and Hanson-Young's comments. It says both companies were contacted and does not report their replies.
  • Parliament's inquiry page gives the referral date, terms and reporting deadline. An indexed copy of its hearing page showed October 1, but was last crawled two weeks before this report; it cannot establish a current witness program.
  • Senate witness procedures explain why an invitation must not be described as a summons. They do not document the two individual requests.