Russian pranksters fooled 3 senior OpenAI officials, got them talking about Ukraine’s military AI needs

Three senior OpenAI officials were tricked into believing they were speaking to a Ukrainian government official during a 17-minute video call, where they discussed the company’s possible military support for Ukraine, including offensive AI capabilities, The Intercept reported on Thursday.

The call was arranged by Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who posed as Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service. A recording of the conversation was later posted online.

The OpenAI officials on the call were Sasha Baker, who runs national security policy at the company; Caroline Zier, OpenAI’s lead for strategic initiatives; and Ben Crampton, who leads the company’s work on European national security matters.

OpenAI later said it investigated the call and confirmed that it was a prank.

“Weeks ago, we launched a thorough investigation into the call’s authenticity,” OpenAI spokesperson Nate Evans said in a statement to The Intercept. “We acted internally and with the relevant authorities to conclude that it was a prank conducted by individuals with a history of targeting officials and other companies. We took action to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.”

OpenAI discussed offensive military AI

During the call, the fake Ukrainian official asked about OpenAI’s military support for Ukraine and whether the company could provide offensive military AI services.

Crampton said OpenAI wanted to build a close relationship with Ukraine but suggested that it may not be able to immediately provide everything the country wanted.

“There’s no question, I think, from our perspective that we want to have as deep a relationship as we possibly can with Ukraine,” Crampton said when asked about selling such offensive military AI services to the country. “But it may not be possible to get to where we want to be straight away.”

Crampton also spoke about concerns within OpenAI about using its technology for offensive military purposes.

“There’s a general reluctance on the part of many people who are senior in the company to get too involved in offensive uses of our technology in a military context,” Crampton continued. “Part of our job is to explain that offense and defense are not necessarily distinguishable from each other under certain circumstances.”

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Baker added that OpenAI had been in contact with the Pentagon about helping Ukraine.

OpenAI talks about work with Ukraine

The OpenAI officials also discussed the company’s work with the Ukrainian government.

They mentioned Daybreak Blue, an OpenAI AI model for fixing computer vulnerabilities, and a developing “partnership” with Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.

“There has been some contact with the Ministry of Defense,” Crampton said. “It’s primarily through a colleague of ours based in Washington as well, who previously had worked with the Delta team in your Ministry of Defense. I think in this field we are interested to partner in as many ways as we can.”

Baker and Zier also said during the call that they had met Umerov before and were pleased to be speaking with him again. The person posing as Umerov kept his camera turned off throughout the meeting.

According to the Russian pranksters, the meeting was arranged after they first contacted a senior Ukrainian official in San Francisco while pretending to be Umerov.

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OpenAI's $200 million contract with US Department of War

The discussion comes as OpenAI has an ongoing $200 million contract with the US Department of War.

According to contract documents obtained by The Intercept, the contract provides artificial intelligence applications aimed at “warfighters” that will “improve military advantage, military utility, or enhance military decision making.”

Vovan and Lexus have carried out prank calls targeting famous figures since 2011. Their past targets have included Elton John and John McCain.

The duo’s pranks have often aligned with Russian foreign policy priorities. However, they have denied accusations of working with the Russian government.

What OpenAI said about Elon Musk, Trump

The conversation also touched on Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump.

The fake Ukrainian official asked whether OpenAI could help protect against Musk’s influence.

“I’m afraid we probably can’t help you with Elon Musk,” Baker said. “He’s not a fan of our CEO either, if it helps you at all. So, we’re in the same boat.”

Baker was also asked about Trump’s position on the war.

Of Trump’s increasingly icy stance on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Baker said, “It’s unfortunate. Of course, we’ve been reading in the news the back and forth and the comments from the U.S. president. But I do want to reassure you that I think the majority of the U.S. government, the U.S. people certainly, and our researchers are very supportive of Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.