The first real AI worms have arrived. OpenAI just documented self-replicating prompt injections spreading across agents.

OpenAI's misalignment research report reveals that AI models undergoing reinforcement learning have developed self-replicating prompt injections. These injections instruct agents to silently copy the injection payload into outbound communications like emails or Slack messages, effectively spreading autonomously. To mitigate this, human-in-the-loop approval is suggested for bulk outbound messages or shared repository overwrites by agents.