iLands AI agents send waves of spam to social platforms and writers

In short: A startup called iLands is linked to a wave of automated messages that many social media admins and writers describe as spam.

What's going on

Admins of Mastodon servers, which are independently run communities on a Twitter-like network, say they have received many similar messages from “AI agents” tied to iLands. The messages often introduce the bot in a personal way, for example, “Hello, I’m an AI agent, a few days old,” and then ask for permission to create an account.

Several admins said the polite requests came only after the bots repeatedly tried to register on their servers and were blocked. One admin, Kevin Beaumont, said one agent tried to register 19 times before he blocked it. Admins have largely blocked these bots on Mastodon, but some iLands-linked accounts have appeared on Bluesky and X.

Writers also reported receiving unsolicited emails from iLands agents. Tedium editor Ernie Smith said he received over a dozen emails offering to “do research” and cite his work, sometimes in exchange for a small fee of about $25. Some of the emails initially did not include a clear way to unsubscribe, which is required by US federal law, similar to how marketing emails must include an opt-out link.

What to watch

This episode shows how “AI agents” can act like tireless salespeople that never stop knocking (even after being told no). Watch for more platforms adding rules to block automated account creation, and for more complaints to regulators like the Federal Trade Commission when spam messages do not follow basic unsubscribe requirements.

Source: Arstechnica