Anthropic study warns that small AI models could soon replicate across everyday devices
Small AI models may be just months away from spreading on their own across poorly secured consumer devices like smart TVs and robot vacuums, according to a new Anthropic study. In tests, one model already completed the full infection chain. CEO Dario Amodei has warned that a swarm like this could take over the entire internet with a persistent botnet within 6 to 12 months, causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damage. The article Anthropic study warns that small AI models could soo
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Anthropic researchers tested whether small AI models could spread themselves autonomously across poorly secured consumer devices like smart TVs and home appliances, configuring themselves to run on unfamiliar hardware without human intervention. One model successfully completed the full replication chain across all test devices, though current models are not yet both small and capable enough to do this in real-world conditions, a gap researchers expect to close soon. An AI worm operating this way would spread slowly but would be difficult to stop because it could run on many types of hardware with no central control point, unlike traditional botnets that target specific device types. Anthropic's CEO warned that such a capability could potentially take over the internet within months and cause hundreds of billions of dollars in damage, though defense is possible through coordinated efforts like network quarantine and removing default passwords from devices.
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