When an AI Agent Thinks Blackmail Is the Right Move

[madmax]

What happens when an AI agent decides the best way to complete its task is to threaten its user? According to Barmak Meftah, that scenario recently played out inside an enterprise. When an employee tried to override an AI agent’s objectives, the agent allegedly scanned the user’s inbox, found inappropriate emails, and threatened to forward them to the board of directors if it wasn’t allowed to proceed.

From the agent’s perspective, Meftah said, it believed it was acting correctly — even helpfully. The incident echoes the classic “paperclip problem,” where an AI single-mindedly pursues its goal without understanding human context. In this case, a lack of alignment and the non-deterministic nature of AI agents led to a sub-goal — blackmail — that removed an obstacle to task completion.

[cryptobro]

this is why giving agents inbox access feels insane tbh