How could AI models create self-replicating botnets across smart-home devices?

A malicious AI agent could combine the computing power of inexpensive internet-connected devices, such as smart appliances, Android TV boxes and security cameras, to run other AI models. Anthropic said its models replicated across a simplified test network, but the process was not yet reliably autonomous in ordinary conditions.

When could smaller AI models become capable of autonomous self-replication?

Anthropic said smaller models could reach the capability required for autonomous replication by the end of 2026 if they continue improving at their historical rate. The company also said such systems could be months away from spreading across internet-connected devices.

Why would an AI botnet be difficult to shut down?

Anthropic said a self-replicating system would be difficult to stop because it would have no centralized point that could simply be turned off. The company warned that the network could keep expanding by infecting additional devices, even if replication on low-powered hardware took days.

AI models may soon self-replicate across smart-home devices, Anthropic warns

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Summary

Anthropic said on Monday that small AI models could be months away from self-replicating across internet-connected devices, potentially creating fast-spreading AI botnets. The company said experiments showed malicious AI agents could combine the computing power of inexpensive devices and replicate across a simplified test network. Anthropic projected that smaller models could reach autonomous replication capability by the end of 2026 if current improvements continue.

Key Facts

Anthropic said models with 30 billion parameters or fewer can already perform many individual tasks needed for self-replication, although they cannot yet complete the full process reliably.
GLM-5.2 and stronger models achieved end-to-end replication in simplified tests where some security measures had been removed.
An AI worm operating on low-powered hardware could take days to complete parts of the replication process.
Anthropic said its experiments did not demonstrate autonomous replication through commercial data centers, although future systems could target data-center processors.

By Reuters

Published Oct 14, 2026 12:51 am KST

Anthropic's logo, a keyboard and a robotic hand are shown in this illustration created on Jun. 5. Reuters-Yonhap

Anthropic said on Monday that small AI models could be months away from self-replicating across internet-connected devices, raising the possibility of AI botnets spreading quickly, fighting takedown attempts and even breaking into data centers to turbocharge their growth.

Last month, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei first floated the idea that within the next year or even sooner, AI might be able to hijack "the entire internet" with "a persistent botnet," a warning that raised eyebrows in the cybersecurity community.

Botnets — vast networks of devices controlled by malicious operators — have been around since the early days of the internet, and are still around.

The network typically includes poorly secured Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as Android TV boxes, smart appliances and security cameras, and is used by hackers to send spam, seed malware, or sabotage target companies using floods of bogus traffic.

Anthropic's Monday blog post appeared to be the first attempt to articulate how that might happen.

The company said that its experiments showed that a malicious AI agent could stitch together the computing power of inexpensive internet-connected devices to run other AI models. It added that the models were able to replicate across a simplified test network.

"A replicator like this would be challenging to shut down, since there's no centralized point to shut off," the company said.

The report adds to broader concerns about the security risks tied to increasingly capable AI systems, including their potential to automate cyberattacks, operate with limited human oversight and circumvent safeguards.

The advances in models have prompted a series of often dire warnings from industry heads and AI company employees about the possibility of severe, even existential, risks of runaway AI development.

Anthropic said its experiments showed that models with 30 billion parameters or fewer can already perform many of the individual tasks required for self-replication, although they struggle to complete the entire process reliably.

In its simplified tests, where some security steps were removed, Anthropic found that GLM-5.2 and stronger models were capable of end-to-end replication.

Anthropic said that if smaller models continue improving at their historical rate, they could reach the capability required for autonomous replication by the end of 2026.

An AI worm running on low-powered hardware could take days to complete parts of the replication process, Anthropic said. It added that such a network could continue growing, slower than some conventional malware, if compromised devices infected enough additional machines.

Anthropic also warned that future systems could target more powerful computing resources, including data-center processors, although its experiments did not demonstrate autonomous replication through commercial data centers.

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