AI could self-replicate on home devices within ‘months’, Anthropic says

Small artificial intelligence models could soon begin self-replicating on everyday consumer products such as smart TVs and fridges, without needing a data centre, according to researchers at AI giant Anthropic. In a report released on Monday, the researchers said small AI models “may be months away from being capable enough” to copy themselves on internet of things (IoT) devices used in homes and small businesses. Anthropic’s frontier red team, which ran experiments using multiple US- and Chinese-developed AI models, said such self-replicating AI would be “challenging to shut down” due to the lack of a centralised host.