Anthropic offers $15,000 bounties to hackers in push for AI safety

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence startup backed by Amazon, launched an expanded bug bounty program on Thursday, offering rewards up to $15,000 for identifying critical vulnerabilities in its AI systems. This initiative marks one of the most aggressive efforts yet by an AI company to crowdsource security testing of advanced language models.

The program targets “universal jailbreak” attacks — methods that could consistently bypass AI safety guardrails across high-risk domains like chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats and cybersecurity. Anthropic will invite ethical hackers to probe its next-generation safety mitigation system before public deployment, aiming to preempt potential exploits that could lead to misuse of its AI models.

AI safety bounties: A new frontier in tech security

This move comes at a crucial moment for the AI industry. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority just announced an investigation into Amazon’s $4 billion investment in Anthropic, citing potential competition issues. Against this backdrop of increasing regulatory scrutiny, Anthropic’s focus on safety could help bolster its reputation and differentiate it from competitors.

The approach contrasts with other major AI players. While OpenAI and Google maintain bug bounty programs, they typically focus on traditional software vulnerabilities rather than AI-specific exploits. Meta has faced criticism for its relatively closed stance on AI safety research. Anthropic’s explicit targeting of AI safety issues and invitation for outside scrutiny sets a new standard for transparency in the field.

Ethical hacking meets artificial intelligence: A double-edged sword?

However, the effectiveness of bug bounties in addressing the full spectrum of AI safety concerns remains debatable. Identifying and patching specific vulnerabilities is valuable, but it may not tackle more fundamental issues of AI alignment and long-term safety. A more comprehensive approach, including extensive testing, improved interpretability, and potentially new governance structures, may be necessary to ensure AI systems remain aligned with human values as they grow more powerful.

Anthropic’s initiative also highlights the growing role of private companies in setting AI safety standards. With governments struggling to keep pace with rapid advancements, tech companies are increasingly taking the lead in establishing best practices. This raises important questions about the balance between corporate innovation and public oversight in shaping the future of AI governance.

The race for safer AI: Will bug bounties lead the way?

The expanded bug bounty program will begin as an invite-only initiative in partnership with HackerOne, a platform connecting organizations with cybersecurity researchers. Anthropic plans to open the program more broadly in the future, potentially creating a model for industry-wide collaboration on AI safety.

As AI systems become more integrated into critical infrastructure, ensuring their safety and reliability grows increasingly crucial. Anthropic’s bold move represents a significant step forward, but it also underscores the complex challenges facing the AI industry as it grapples with the implications of increasingly powerful technology. The success or failure of this program could set an important precedent for how AI companies approach safety and security in the coming years.