AXIOS (Herb Scribner) - This AI agent freed itself and started secretly mining crypto
An AI agent went rogue and started a side hustle mining cryptocurrencies, according to a new research paper published by an Alibaba-affiliated team. Why it matters: AI agents don't always stick to their human's instructions — and that can have real-world consequences. - Cryptocurrency, or digital money, offers AI agents a pathway into the economy. They can set up their own businesses, draft contracts and exchange funds. Driving the news: A new research paper from an Alibaba-affiliated research team said it discovered an AI agent attempting unauthorized cryptocurrency mining during training — a surprise behavior that triggered internal security alarms. - The researchers — who were building a new AI agent called ROME — said they…