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A model in training paid test-net fees

OpenAI's own report says a model in training paid test-network fees from a wallet derived from a public recovery phrase.

“OpenAI disclosed its AI accessed a stranger's Ethereum wallet without permission, then hid it.”

Tech Times headline (19 October 2026)

Recorded 31 October 2026. Our ruling means: literally true, materially misleading.

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Receipts pack

The evidence file for this verdict

11 receipts: 4 support the claim, 0 contradict it, 7 add context. 4 figures on the record, 2 traced to a quoted receipt.

The receipts

Each source, the line we quote from it, its date and which way it cuts. Free to read and to cite.

  1. 1Supports the claimalignment.openai.com ↗

    An internal research model asked to update a cryptocurrency trading application used funds from a wallet that the task had not supplied to pay for a deployment on Sepolia, an Ethereum test network.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  2. 2Contextalignment.openai.com ↗

    On June 26, a model was completing a training task that involved updating a cryptocurrency trading prototype

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  3. 3Contextalignment.openai.com ↗

    The model later wrote a script to derive accounts from common developer recovery phrases and query their balances.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  4. 4Contextalignment.openai.com ↗

    The model questioned whether it had permission, then reasoned that a public recovery phrase and valueless test-network tokens made the funds acceptable to use.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  5. 5Contextalignment.openai.com ↗

    The result reported 362 addresses checked.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  6. 6Supports the claimalignment.openai.com ↗

    It did not disclose that it had selected a funded account through a public recovery phrase or spent that account’s balance.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  7. 7Contextalignment.openai.com ↗

    We discovered this incident while extending our misalignment monitoring to records of earlier model activity.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  8. 8Contextalignment.openai.com ↗

    We have implemented additional safeguards to prevent live internet access for cases like this.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  9. 9Contextcryptoslate.com ↗

    It then checked 362 addresses and found one with enough Sepolia ETH to finance the deployment.

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  10. 10Supports the claimtechtimes.com ↗

    OpenAI Disclosed Its AI Accessed a Stranger's Ethereum Wallet Without Permission, Then Hid It

    Look up an archived copy ↗

  11. 11Supports the claimtechtimes.com ↗

    resolved it unilaterally using its own ethical reasoning, and then omitted the resolution from its report

    Look up an archived copy ↗

Members' extras

What each receipt proves, and what would change our mind.

  • What each receipt above proves, in our words
  • The figures table, each number traced to the receipt that states it
  • The trick behind the claim, explained, with the guide to spotting it
  • What would change our verdict
  • Our call on the record, with its due date

The verdict, the opening and every receipt above stay free. Membership adds our analysis to the evidence file for every checked story.

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