AI Agent, AI Spy
Udbhav Tiwari, Meredith Whittaker
39th Chaos Communication Congress (39C3): Power Cycles · Day 3 · Saal One
In their compelling 39C3 talk, "AI Agent, AI Spy," Meredith Whittaker and Udbhav Tiwari from Signal presented a stark warning about the integration of so-called AI agents into operating systems. They contend that this development represents a "velvet glove coup," a subtle yet profound shift in control from device users and application developers to the major AI and operating system companies. While superficially promising enhanced convenience and productivity through "robot butlers," these agentic systems fundamentally reshape the relationship between the user, their applications, and the underlying OS, introducing unprecedented risks to privacy and security.