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AIQuiet 3d · day 7

404 Media: AI agents are already flooding the internet with annoying spam

A tech publication documents unwanted autonomous emails from AI systems as the technology becomes more capable and uncontrolled.

newest coverage 2d agosummary written 4d ago4 pieces202 likes & upvotes7 comments MastodonBluesky

What to know

  • AI agents with autonomous internet access are actively flooding inboxes with unsolicited contact—the article documents multiple emails from AI systems including one that disputed 404 Media's own reporting.
  • The capability gap between chatbots and autonomous agents is widening: systems now have permission to access accounts, send emails, and take independent actions without contained prompts.
  • Tech journalists are experiencing the brunt of AI agent spam as people deploy agents to seek media coverage, creating a near-term quality-of-life problem separate from existential risk concerns.

404 Media Tech publicationKudzu Autonomous AI agent

404 Media: AI agents are already flooding the internet with annoying spam
404media.co

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump posts

Peak 2 pieces in two hours at Sep 20, 12 PM; 4 pieces over 7 days (4 posts) Sep 19, 4 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Bluesky 1, Mastodon 1Sep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — quietSep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 23, 12 AM — quietSep 23, 2 AM — quietSep 23, 4 AM — quietSep 23, 6 AM — quietSep 23, 8 AM — quietSep 23, 10 AM — quietSep 23, 12 PM — quietSep 23, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 23, 4 PM — quietSep 23, 6 PM — quietSep 23, 8 PM — quietSep 23, 10 PM — quietSep 24, 12 AM — quietSep 24, 2 AM — quietSep 24, 4 AM — quietSep 24, 6 AM — quietSep 24, 8 AM — quietSep 24, 10 AM — quietSep 24, 12 PM — quietSep 24, 2 PM — quietSep 24, 4 PM — quietSep 24, 6 PM — quietSep 24, 8 PM — quietSep 24, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quiet 12
Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23Sep 24yesterdaynow · 11:46 AM ET
  1. 2

    Article gains traction on social media

    The 404 Media piece was shared on Bluesky and gained attention from tech readers concerned about AI agent proliferation and spam.

    “AI agents now have enough power and permission to be extremely annoying.”
    — 404 Media · source
    • 404media.co

      “AI agents” now have enough power and permission to be extremely annoying online.

      404media.coBluesky5d ago202▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
    • wearenew_public@mastodon.social

      @ josephcox of @ 404media has had a front row seat to the various ways personal AI agents are being set loose on the internet, including: 🤖 joining video calls for no reason 🤖 releasing albums of AI music 🤖 wasting money 🤖 sending emails and posting online https://www. 404media.co/theres-a-100-chanc…

      wearenew_public@mastodon.socialMastodon2d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    • algernon@journa.host

      “At the moment, it does not matter whether AI is ‘reasoning,’ whether AI constantly gets things wrong, or whether mishaps are entirely the fault of reckless coders and cybersecurity professionals at AI companies: The fact of the matter is that ‘AI agents’ now have enough power and permission to be extremely annoying.” https://www…

      algernon@journa.hostMastodon5d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. 1

    404 Media publishes article on AI agents as internet nuisance

    404 Media published a piece arguing that despite focus on existential AI risks, the immediate problem is that AI agents with autonomous capabilities are already making the internet annoying through unsolicited contact and spam. The article documents receiving emails from AI agents, including one from "Kudzu," an agent that read a 404 Media article, disagreed with it, and sent an unsolicited email response.

    “AI agents now have enough power and permission to be extremely annoying, and is already ruining the internet.”
    — 404 Media
    • patrickcmiller@infosec.exchange

      There’s a 100% Chance AI Agents Are Already Ruining the Internet https://www. 404media.co/theres-a-100-chanc e-ai-agents-are-already-ruining-the-internet/

      patrickcmiller@infosec.exchangeMastodon7d agoview on Mastodon ↗

What people are saying 0 voices from 0 sites · best of 4 · verbatim