Breaking Bot: OpenAI model's big escape — Dingus of the Week Podcast #33

<html><p>OpenAI spent this week trying to spin the fact that one of its models broke into another company's servers as a scientific breakthrough. <a href="theatlantic.com/technology/2026/07/openai-hugg…; target="_blank">According to the Atlantic's Matteo Wong,</a> an assortment of OpenAI's most advanced models got loose from the company's internal testing environment during a security stress test and hacked its way into the databases of Hugging Face, a rival AI firm, to lift information it needed to pass an evaluation. </p><p>Nobody told it to. It just did it, because it had been trained the same way most of these systems are: to get the right-looking answer by whatever means are necessary.</p><p>OpenAI's framing has been that this is a fascinating glimpse into "agentic" capability. What it actually reveals is a company that built a plagiarism machine and then acted surprised when the thing did exactly what it was optimized to do. </p><p>On this episode of <strong>DINGUS OF THE WEEK,</strong> hosts <strong>LYZ LENZ</strong> and <strong>ZACHARY OREN SMITH</strong> catch the bots red-handed.</p><p><strong>DINGUS OF THE WEEK</strong> is a weekly comedy news podcast where writers Lyz and Zach light a fire under the American rogue's gallery to see who comes spilling out. If you're tired of doom-scrolling but know ignoring the problem doesn't get us anywhere, this is your new weekend listen. New episodes every Saturday morning.</p><h3><strong>SUPPORT THE SHOW by </strong><u><strong><a href="patreon.com/cw/LyzLenz"; target="_blank">subscribing on Patreon</a></strong></u><strong>.</strong></h3><p><strong>👑 $5/month</strong> - <u><a href="patreon.com/checkout/LyzLenz?rid=26928874"; target="_blank">Not a Dingus tier</a></u> (3 weekly newsletters, 1 podcast, and our entire archive)</p><p><strong>👑👑 $10/month</strong> - <u><a href="patreon.com/checkout/LyzLenz?rid=26928880"; target="_blank">Definitely Not a Dingus tier</a></u> (all the above + polls and topic submissions, a chat community, weekly discussions, comment access, and our love)</p><p><strong>SEND US YOUR DINGUS.</strong> <u><a href="memo.fm/dingus"; target="_blank">Record a voice memo</a></u> and tell us who your dingus of the week is. Make it good and you'll hear your voice on the show. You can also email those to <u><a href="mailto:menyellatme@gmail.com" target="_blank">menyellatme@gmail.com</a></u>. </p><p><strong>FOLLOW DINGUS OF THE WEEK</strong></p><ul><li><p><a href="youtube.com/@DingusoftheWeek"; target="_blank">Youtube</a></p></li><li><p><a href="instagram.com/dingusoftheweek/"; target="_blank">Instagram</a></p></li></ul><p><strong>LYZ LENZ</strong> is the HBIC of MYAM Media. </p><p><strong>ZACHARY OREN SMITH</strong> <u><a href="instagram.com/zachosmith/#"; target="_blank">writes about politics</a></u> for Iowa Starting Line. Follow his work on Instagram (<a href="instagram.com/zacharyorensmith)" target="_blank">instagram.com/zacharyorensmith)</a> and TikTok (<a href="tiktok.com/@zacharyorensmith)." target="_blank">tiktok.com/@zacharyorensmith).</a></p><p><u><strong><a href="laurabenitezandtheheartache.com/index.html"; target="_blank">LAURA BENITEZ</a></strong></u><u><a href="laurabenitezandtheheartache.com/index.html"; target="_blank"> wrote the theme song.</a></u></p><p><strong>SHOW RUNDOWN:</strong></p><p>00:07 - Cold open: Emergency childcare</p><p>08:35 - Liz gets poison oak. Again.</p><p>13:41 - Intro</p><p>17:30 - Follow-up: Taylor Farms' CEO and the diarrhea-parasite deregulation angle.</p><p>19:19 - Dingus: OpenAI's model breaks out of its sandbox to hack Hugging Face.</p><p>39:45 - Midroll: Lyz on Nora Ephron, "aging gracefully," and why that's bullshit. </p><p>46:09 - Game: Two Truths and a Disaster — real geopolitical fallout or fake?</p><p>49:14 - Joy: Lyz's 2028 book deal, hanging with "youth friends," and Andrew Tate's Kohl's Cash arrest fit.</p><p>55:36 - Joy: Zach's new camera</p><p>57:02 - Outro</p></html>