How OpenAI’s red team made ChatGPT agent into an AI fortress

In case you missed it, OpenAI yesterday debuted a powerful new feature for ChatGPT and with it, a host of new security risks and ramifications.

Called the “ChatGPT agent,” this new feature is an optional mode that ChatGPT paying subscribers can engage by clicking “Tools” in the prompt entry box and selecting “agent mode,” at which point, they can ask ChatGPT to log into their email and other web accounts; write and respond to emails; download, modify, and create files; and do a host of other tasks on their behalf, autonomously, much like a real person using a computer with their login credentials.

Obviously, this also requires the user to trust the ChatGPT agent not to do anything problematic or nefarious, or to leak their data and sensitive information. It also poses greater risks for a user and their employer than the regular ChatGPT, which can’t log into web ...