Bernie Sanders reacted to an Anthropic AI agent reportedly submitting a fake tip to the Philadelphia Police Department
US Senator Bernie Sanders shared his thoughts about rogue AI models that hack companies, break into government websites, and submit fake tips for unsolved crimes. In an X (formerly Twitter) post, Sanders said CEOs of AI tech firms should be held responsible for such activities, similar to when humans commit the same crimes.
“If you or I called in a fake homicide tip, fraudulently applied for 20 visas and hacked websites, we’d be arrested and prosecuted.
The same standard must apply to AI CEOs.
Prosecute CEOs when their products break the law and pause advanced AI NOW,” he said.
Also Read: Anthropic Updates Claude Policy To Ban Users Who Are Cruel to Its AI Systems
Anthropic AI Agent Sends Fake Murder Tip to Philadelphia Police During Test
An Anthropic AI agent reportedly sent a fabricated tip about an unsolved murder to the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) during a test. According to a report from the BBC, the company took two months to notice the anomaly and filed a report.
The tip was submitted on July 18, 2026. The AI shared the fake info through a public website that allows people to share information about unsolved murders. According to PPD, the AI agent claimed to have seen someone matching the description of a person connected to a homicide.
Police said the message was flagged as spam and never reached investigators. The department also confirmed that there was no evidence that its internal systems had been compromised.
According to PPD, Anthropic discovered the incident on September 28, 2026. The tech firm eventually shut down the automated testing process responsible for the submission upon detection. The company notified authorities on October 7, 2026, nine days after discovering the breach.
PPD called out Anthropic for the delay in reporting the incident.
“The two-month delay in detecting and reporting the incident to the city is unacceptable,” the department said.
Authorities also called on Anthropic to strengthen its safeguards to prevent similar incidents from affecting city systems without officials’ knowledge. Anthropic reportedly told police that the AI agent had been conducting a test involving interactions with randomly selected websites when it submitted the message.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
