Small AI models may self-replicate on IoT devices within months, study warns
nc_frey · x · 2026-10-13
A new experimental study warns small AI models may be months away from self-replicating on commercial IoT devices like smart ovens and off-brand Android TV boxes — hard to shut down with no centralized kill switch, though slow (doubling time of days).
- Models ≤30B can already complete many individual replication steps today, but fail when composing them end-to-end
- In simplified evals, GLM-5.2 and stronger models achieve end-to-end replication
- At historical improvement rates, small models could match this capability by the end of the year
A forward-looking AI safety risk study worth attention from the security/policy community.
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