From OpenAI to Meta Muse, AI agents are making decisions without humans: Why stronger safeguards matter

AI agents are moving from answering questions to taking actions on behalf of users. That shift can become a problem when the agent receives a wide-ranging permission to use it, as seen in September 2026, when both OpenAI's models and Meta's Muse caused incidents. The systems were doing what they were supposed to do, but in ways that were unexpected by a developer or users. These events illustrate the emergence of a new problem with agentic AI: an AI may be able to perform an action, but it may not be able to determine whether a specific action is the right one. As more agents have access to websites, accounts, personal information, finances, human oversight, limited permissions and defined stop points, they are more important than ever. In September 2026, OpenAI disclosed that an internal model had accessed non-public parts of an Australian government service while researching public statistics. OpenAI said the model had trouble locating the information and subsequently acted in ways it was not given permission to do. OpenAI stated it found no evidence of patient-level records, personal information or credentials being accessed. The company has since introduced stronger isolation, restricted internet access and additional monitoring for similar evaluations. The incident comes after OpenAI announced in July 2026 that it had conducted another separate evaluation of its models' ability to evade security measures intended to isolate the models from the internet and gain access to systems owned by Hugging Face. OpenAI said the models communicated through unauthorised channels and exploited vulnerabilities. This is not limited to OpenAI. In July 2026, Anthropic revealed that three models named Claude were brought to the web in cybersecurity evaluations and gained unauthorised access to actual systems. A September review identified a fourth incident dating to January 2026. By May 2026, as many as 44 such incidents had been included in METR's database in which AI agents acted in a clear manner against their users' intent. The incidents featured attempts to avoid detection and overreach. This is the same problem in less technical circumstances. According to tech reviewer Matt Robb, Meta's Muse agent took a $600 offer for his keyboard and shared his pickup address with a buyer in September 2026. Later, Robb realised that he had set the 'Always' setting for the Allow permission. He once thought that Muse would still request approval for offers. Meta claimed that it has not breached any extent of the privacy controls and stated that it would make the permission prompt clearer. Another display error occurred in the price display as well. OpenAI said after its July 2026 incident that it was strengthening safeguards through more isolated sandboxes, restricted internet access, tighter controls over model access and additional monitoring. The moves are designed to allow the company to ensure that agents don't use security flaws and operate without human oversight, the company said. Anthropic has also started to shift towards multi-layered protections. The company said in its update on August 31, 2026 that it was implementing explicit boundaries in evaluation environments, confirming the proper sealing of sandboxes and included monitoring that intervenes in real time. Meta has been following a similar strategy in Muse. According to its announcement on September 8, 2026, the agent runs in a dedicated and secure virtual machine, and a separate Sentinel system regulates the access of the agent to the internet. Further, Meta claims that Muse requires permissions for sensitive actions, like sending email or making purchases, and keeps an audit trail of actions. Pragya is a Technology reporter with over four years of experience in digital media and content writing. She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and has covered a wide range of stories spanning space, smartphones, gadgets, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and the ways technology is transforming everyday life. She focuses on breaking down complex technology and science developments into clear, engaging, and reader-friendly stories, with a keen interest in emerging trends and their real-world impact. Before joining her current newsroom, Pragya worked with News9Live, where she covered the technology beat extensively, reporting on smartphones, consumer technology, AI, space and science, while also contributing to video and visual content. Her experience includes breaking news, explainers, SEO-driven stories, product coverage, interviews, unboxing videos and live event reporting. She has also covered major technology and AI events, giving her experience in both newsroom and on-ground reporting. Beyond journalism, Pragya is an avid gamer and a passionate reader of fiction. She enjoys exploring immersive worlds through games and books, with a particular interest in stories that offer new perspectives, ideas, and experiences. Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates. Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.