Smart homes, especially from lesser-known brands, have been a potential vector for hackers to launch cyberattacks across the web or gain unwanted network access for some time.
But artificial intelligence is adding a new wrinkle to the problem. According to research by Anthropic (ANTH.PVT), rogue AI models could soon be able to break into internet of things devices, ranging from smart stoves and TVs to intelligent refrigerators, and self-replicate across further gadgets.
Such models would be more difficult to shut down, because there’s no central hub to take them offline. And while they may move slowly across devices, the company says the models can figure out how to propagate across devices they are unfamiliar with.
The announcement comes after Apple (AAPL) debuted its HomeView, putting the smart home market back into mainstream focus.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. REUTERS/Carlos Barria · Reuters / REUTERS
Anthropic performed its tests using Android-based devices.
It also follows a report that hackers broke into internet-connected refrigerators in French grocery stores, raising temperatures, ruining food, and starting fires.
During its own testing, Anthropic said it found that larger AI models can split themselves up and run across multiple devices. Some models also managed to pass knowledge to replicated versions of themselves, enabling them to adapt to different hardware.
“Machines that could run a significant model shard for a <30B model include smart fridges, smart ovens, automatic vacuum cleaners, and lawnmowers,” the company said.
What’s more, Anthropic notes, newer smart home devices are integrating AI chips to power their own AI models, giving attacking models more horsepower to continue spreading.
And thanks to their ability to run on different types of devices, they could eventually spread to increasingly powerful machines.
Anthropic says rogue replicators aren’t a problem for now, since models under 30 billion parameters can complete individual steps in the replication process but make mistakes when running the entire chain of actions.
Still, the company says, at the current rate of model improvement, they may be able to reach such capabilities by the end of 2026.
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Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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