Headline, April 04 2025/ ''' DIGITAL STUDENTS DIGEST* '''

''' DIGITAL 

STUDENTS 

DIGEST* '''

DIGITAL AGENTS ARE GREAT FUN - but don't ever consider handing them your credit card. A.I. chatbots that can act as personal assistants are useful but come with mighty risks.

One January evening before going to bed, Sebastian Heyneman sent a message to one of the artificial intelligence bots that help organize his life.

Mr. Heyneman, the founder of a tiny tech start-up in San Francisco, hoped to give a speech at the  World Economic Forum, the annual gathering of business leaders and policymakers in Davos,  Switzerland. So he asked the bot to arrange it.

While he slept, the bot searched the internet for people connected with the event, sent them text messages and worked to negotiate a speaking spot - or at least arrange coffee with people he would like to meet. After one lengthy conversation with a businessman in Switzerland, it succeeded.

But when Mr. Heyneman woke up, he was in a pickle. Going against his original instructions the bot had agreed to pay 24,000 Swiss francs - or about $31,000 - for a corporate sponsorship. He could not pay the bill.

Called an A.I. agent, Mr. Heyneman's bot is an example of a new kind of technology that is gaining popularity among tech enthusiasts. These bots do more than just chat. 

They can act as personal digital assistants that use software apps and websites on behalf of people like Mr. Heyneman, including spreadsheets, online calendars and email services.

The bot can gather information from across the internet, write reports, edit files or even send and receive messages through email and text - driving online conversations largely on their own.

For people like Mr. Heyneman, these bots are almost like employees that people can delegate work to at any time of day. In some cases the employee is reliable. Other times not so much.

Many A.I. researchers, tech executives and pundits believe that agents will soon replace white-collar office workers.

Last month, Block, the financial technology company that owns Square, Cash App and Tidal, said it was cutting 40 percent of its work force as it anticipated the rise of this kind of technology - perhaps the most striking example of a company's eliminating employees because of what A.I. may do.

Other experts, however, argue that flaws could hinder the technology's progress. Like other chatbots, A.I. agents can make mistakes. And because these mistakes might involve sending email messages or editing files, they can wreak havoc.

When Mr. Heyneman told Davos organizers that he could not pay his bill, they threatened to bar him from the event. He ended up paying nearly 4,000 euros [ about. $ 4,600 ] just to attend.

During his stay in Davos, Mr. Heyneman was briefly arrested when he let a gadget built by his start-up in a hotel lobby and the local police questioned whether the device was dangerous.

When using agents, some people give them ample rein to take action on their behalf - and are willing to face the consequences when they slip up.

'' Mistakes are going to happen. But if you have had any employees who are human, you know that they are going to make mistakes, too,'' said Kyle Wild, a software engineer in Berkeley, Calif, who uses the technology to pay for parking tickets, search the internet for date-night ideas and even send texts to friends, colleagues, restaurants and other businesses.

Others see the technology as a powerful tool that requires help from human intelligence, arguing that the technology will not replace workers as quickly as it seems at the moment.

'' The key here is having a process where humans can oversee the work of these computers,'' said Andrew Lee, founder of the San Francisco start-up Shortwave, which built the technology, called Tasklet, that Mr. Heyneman used to negotiate a speaking spot at the World Economic Forum.

'' Maybe you let a bot draft as many emails as it wants,'' he added. '' But you prevent it from actually sending an email without checking with you first.''

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on digital Agents and Risks, continues. The World Students Society thanks Cade Metz.

With most respectful dedication to the Parents, Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See You all prepare for the great '' Constitutional Democratic Conventions '' on !WOW! : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - The Voice Of The Voiceless