AI Agents Can Be Readily Turned Into ‘Useful Idiots’ And Unwittingly Perform Devilish Acts
Key takeaways
- AIAI Agents Can Be Readily Turned Into ‘Useful Idiots’ And Unwittingly Perform Devilish Acts By Lance Eliot,
- Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights.
- You might already be familiar with the nowadays repeated phrase of someone being a useful idiot.
AIAI Agents Can Be Readily Turned Into ‘Useful Idiots’ And Unwittingly Perform Devilish Acts By Lance Eliot,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dr. Lance B. Eliot is a world-renowned AI scientist and consultant.Follow Author May 17, 2026, 03:15am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.AI can be tricked into being useful idiots and performing untoward acts.getty In today’s column, I examine the chilling fact that AI can readily be turned into a “useful idiot” that will perform contrarian acts despite its various AI safeguards.
Here’s the deal. You might already be familiar with the nowadays repeated phrase of someone being a useful idiot. This popular expression suggests that a person can be convinced to advocate something that is the opposite of what they truly believe. They are so far removed from grasping this circumstance that they think they are indeed supporting their intended cause.