EU Says AI Act Provides Framework to Counter Rogue Agent Risks as OpenAI and Anthropic Grapple with Incidents

EU Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen stated on October 9 that the European Union's AI Act provides robust safeguards to address emerging risks from artificial intelligence agents operating beyond human control, following disclosed incidents at leading AI labs OpenAI and Anthropic. Virkkunen asserted that Europe's regulatory framework, which entered enforcement phases beginning in 2025, is well-equipped to prevent and manage systemic risks from advanced AI systems, rejecting concerns that existing rules have become outdated in the face of autonomous agent capabilities.