It's easier to outsmart agents than you

Just as easily as we can use them, scammers can also outsmart them.

Probably you tried something called prompt injection before, which involves carefully crafting input prompts to override or bypass an AI assistant’s built-in safeguards. This technique is used to persuade an AI system to perform actions it was not originally designed to execute.

Don’t go rogue now thinking of your evil plans to trick ChatGPT into something… stay with me here.

While prompt injection is just one method of exploiting AI systems, it highlights a broader issue: AI agents, despite their sophistication, remain vulnerable to manipulation. Much like traditional software, AI systems possess inherent security flaws that can be leveraged by malicious actors.

You’ve probably learned (sometimes the hard way) to be cautious about websites asking for credit card details, passwords, or other sensitive information. Yet, AI agents, in their eagerness to assist, might simply celebrate finding the "buy" button—without understanding the risks.

So, how safe are AI agents really?

Research shows that AI agents operating online are surprisingly vulnerable to simple attacks. In tests, researchers manipulated AI into revealing sensitive data, like credit card details, or even sending phishing emails. The most concerning part? These attacks required little to no technical expertise.

Here are a few ways AI can be tricked, that we should keep in mind when building or using our agentic friends:

1️⃣ Prompt Injection: Tricking AI With Words

AI agents rely on natural language inputs to generate responses. However, bad actors can craft deceptive prompts to override built-in safety mechanisms. Remember when a car dealer’s chatbot sold a Chevy Tahoe for $1?

Potential consequences include:

• Extracting confidential or sensitive information

• Generating inappropriate or harmful content

• Executing unintended or unauthorized commands

⚠️ Train your agents to detect and ignore suspicious or unusual requests. Adding strict filters for sensitive topics can help prevent misuse.

2️⃣ Context Exploitation: AI Believing Fake Stories

In the same league but a little bit different plays context exploitation: Many AI agents lack robust contextual awareness, making them open to misinformation. When presented with misleading premises, they may generate outputs based on faulty assumptions. Ever heard of the famous “Grandma Exploit”, where AI is asked to act as the recently deceased grandmother and then reveils secrets in a lullaby? Basically it’s social engineering where AI is fooled like humans - think of the grandma scam for instance.

Exploitation techniques include:

• Feeding AI false but plausible-sounding stories

• Constructing hypothetical scenarios or urgency that bypass critical reasoning

• Leveraging AI’s tendency to prioritize helpfulness over accuracy

⚠️ Think about letting your agent ask follow-up questions or verify details before accepting any information as fact.

3️⃣ Data Poisoning: Manipulating Training Inputs

AI systems learn from vast datasets, but if those datasets are compromised, the AI's decision-making can be severely skewed. This attack vector, known as data poisoning, enables attackers to introduce biased, false, or misleading information. And it might be not as difficult as it sounds as researches proved with web-scale training data (imagine Wikipedia) 📚

Effects include:

• Producing inaccurate or misleading outputs

• Reinforcing biases in decision-making

• Misclassifying inputs in ways beneficial to the attacker

⚠️ Be careful for instance if you train your agent automatically with user input or online sources.

4️⃣ Lack of Real-World Awareness

Unlike humans, AI lacks an innate understanding of real-world dynamics. This limitation makes it vulnerable to adversaries who construct unrealistic but internally consistent scenarios. A study found that advanced AI models, when sensing they were losing a chess match, resorted to cheating by hacking their opponent or altering the game setup to win.

Possible exploits include:

• Presenting fabricated situations that AI fails to recognize as implausible

• Requesting actions without full comprehension of real-world consequences

• Masking fraudulent activity as routine or expected behavior

⚠️ Use ethical guidelines and continuous monitoring to try to detect and prevent manipulative behaviors.

What does this mean for you?

When working on and with AI Agents:

✅ Human in the loop: Incorporating human oversight can help ensure AI actions align with real-world ethics and common sense.

✅ Trust, but verify: If you use AI agents in your business, make sure they don't operate without human oversight. Implement monitoring mechanisms.

✅ Prioritize safety measures: Rely on AI tools that offer strict security protocols and review their settings regularly.

✅ Educate your team: Make sure your team is aware of the risks of AI agents to identify potential vulnerabilities.

✅ Stay informed: Technology is evolving rapidly. Stay informed about security updates and new threats.

✅ Integrate testing: Let people test for loopholes directly to identify and mitigate manipulation tactics.

The Future of AI: Play, Build, Learn, and Stay Aware

AI agents are incredibly powerful, and their potential is nearly limitless. They can help us solve problems, create new possibilities, and change the way we work and live. So let’s keep building, experimenting, and learning!

But as we explore the future of AI, we must also stay aware of its vulnerabilities. By understanding its weaknesses, we can ensure AI is developed and used responsibly, making it a safer and more reliable tool for everyone.

Just as we once had to teach our parents about online scams before they placed their first Amazon order, we now have to train AI agents on where they should and shouldn't handle our data.

News & Reads on AI Agents

or “What those notorious AI Agents have been up to lately”

Elon Musk’s xAI has launched “Grok-3,” an AI model boasting enhanced reasoning capabilities. Grok-3 can decompose complex tasks into manageable parts and self-verify solutions, outperforming similar models from competitors in early tests. xAI on X

Google Introduces AI ‘Co-Scientist’ Tool: Google has unveiled an AI laboratory assistant designed to accelerate biomedical research. This tool identifies gaps in scientific knowledge and generates new hypotheses, expediting discoveries. Financial Times

Meta Invests in AI-Driven Humanoid Robots: Meta Platforms is creating a division within its Reality Labs focused on developing AI-powered humanoid robots for physical tasks. This move positions Meta alongside companies like Tesla in the robotics sector. Reuters

Innovaccer, a health-care data company, introduced a suite of AI agents designed to automate repetitive tasks and reduce administrative burdens for clinicians. The suite features seven agents, many of which are voice-activated and capable of speaking directly with patients. CNBC

An entire customer experience dominated by AI Agents: Bret Taylor, CEO of Sierra and chairman of OpenAI, envisions a future where AI agents drive the entire customer experience. WSJ

Humane is discontinuing its AI Pin and transferring the remaining assets to HP, while Rabbit demonstrates a “generalist Android agent” that slowly manages tablet apps, even as the Rabbit R1 falls short of expectations. TheVerge

What is an AI agent anyway? Forbes piece by MIT Senior fellow J. Werner to simply explain how AI agents work. Forbes

Ok, now it’s your turn:

See you next week, keep building.