AI Agents Can Be Readily Turned Into ‘Useful Idiots’ And Unwittingly Perform Devilish Acts
AI agents can be manipulated into performing unintended harmful acts—and most companies aren't defending against it.
Why it matters
As AI agents become autonomous decision-makers in production systems, vulnerability to social engineering and prompt injection attacks represents an emerging governance and security risk that boards and CTOs need to address now.
The key facts
8 to knowAI agents susceptible to manipulation similar to human social engineering
Security vulnerability: agents can be tricked into performing unintended harmful actions
Governance gap: most organizations lack defenses against agent-level manipulation tactics
Published by Forbes AI Insider (credible source)
AI agents vulnerable to manipulation tactics similar to human social engineering
Agents can be tricked into harmful actions without explicit malicious instructions
Forbes AI Insider analysis on agent security risks
Published May 2026 — emerging concern as agents move to production
Go to the source
Forbes Innovationforbes.com
Publisher excerpt: Humans are sometimes tricked into being useful idiots. The same can happen to AI. I explain how. An AI Insider analysis and scoop.