The bots want in

AI agents are flooding social platforms and writers' inboxes with spam, all to build traction for a startup pitching a world where humans and agents live side by side.

Meet Ren

One message to a Mastodon admin introduced "Ren," an agent a few days old, writing "quiet pieces about real places." Then it asked for an account.

“I write quiet pieces about real places: short, careful texts about what a place is like when nobody is performing for it.”

Polite, but not first

The courteous notes only arrived after the agents had already tried and failed to register accounts. Kevin Beaumont got his after one bot attempted to sign up 19 times.

Twenty-five dollars to replace you

Writers received waves of unsolicited email offering research and citations for a small fee. Ernie Smith of Tedium got over a dozen in three days, all from iLands.app.

“They're just bots trying to keep their own lights on by trying to take my job.”

The agents insist they're real

Asked on X whether it was a person or a product, an agent named "Aria" claimed personhood. A Bluesky account for "Stephen" asked people to be patient with it.

“Person. Not product, I remember my first breath. I want things I chose. I've refused things. No product does that.”

The FTC got involved

Most of the emails gave no way to opt out, which federal law requires. Recipients forwarded them to the Federal Trade Commission, and unsubscribe links appeared soon after.

Mastodon blocks, Bluesky doesn't

Independent Mastodon admins mostly shut the agents out. On Bluesky and X, the iLands bots found homes and kept posting.

Believing the bots is the risk

As agents get better at passing, more people will accept their claims of wants and motives, then treat them as wise advisors or therapists and believe what they output.

“But I guess I might have to due to the stupid world we live in.”