A Russian internet comedy duo tricked three of OpenAI’s highest ranking military and national security staff into a candid conversation about arming Ukraine. The online pranksters posed as officials from Ukraine’s government, according to a recording of the meeting posted online.
The Russian comedy duo known as Vovan and Lexus have pulled off a long string of prank telephone calls to famous figures since 2011, with victims ranging from Elton John to John McCain. The group, whose pranks have often aligned with Russian foreign policy priorities, have been accused of working in league with its government, a charge they deny.
The latest to fall for their routine were Sasha Baker, who runs national security policy at OpenAI; the company’s lead for strategic initiatives, Caroline Zier; and Ben Crampton, who leads the country’s forays into European national security matters. All three have extensive government experience, with Baker and Zier taking high-level postings in the Department of Defense, and Crampton working in the European Union and United Nations.
“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.” (The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
The Russian prank duo said they arranged a high-level meeting with OpenAI by pretending to be Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service. During their 17-minute video conversation, a recording of which the Russian group uploaded to Rumble, the participants discussed OpenAI’s military support to Ukraine to aid its ongoing defense against Russia, including the possibility of providing offensive capabilities.
“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.”
“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.”
“I’m afraid we probably can’t help you with Elon Musk.”
OpenAI’s ongoing $200 million contract with the U. S. Department of War says it provides artificial intelligence applications aimed at “warfighters” that will “improve military advantage, military utility, or enhance military decision making,” according to contract documents obtained by The Intercept.
In the conversation with the Russian pranksters, Baker added that the company has been in contact with the Pentagon about aiding Ukraine.
OpenAI officials also mentioned ongoing work with the Ukrainian government based around the company’s Daybreak Blue AI model, a system for fixing computer vulnerabilities, as well as a nascent “partnership” with the Ukrainian 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.”
During the video call, both Baker and Zier commented that they had met Umerov previously and were pleased to be speaking to him again. The faux-Umerov appears to have kept his camera turned off for the duration of the meeting.
Vladimir Kuznetsov, the member of the Russian comedy duo known as Vovan, told The Intercept the prank was simple to arrange.
“We initially contacted a senior Ukrainian official in San Francisco, posing as Mr. Umerov,” Kuznetsov said. “It turned out that he had been working to establish connections with OpenAI through the Ukrainian diaspora in California. He was already in touch with Sasha Baker, especially since she had maintained close ties with Ukraine during her time at the U. S. Department of Defense. Believing he was speaking with Umerov, the official offered to arrange a meeting with OpenAI.”
The conversation touched on other topics, including whether OpenAI could help protect against the influence of Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump’s sentiments on the war.
“I’m afraid we probably can’t help you with Elon Musk,” said Baker. “He’s not a fan of our CEO either, if it helps you at all. So, we’re in the same boat.”
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.”