MIT Technology Review reports that Google DeepMind is funding research into the potential dangers of mass agent interaction online. The concern is that consumer-scale AI agents may soon act without direct human oversight and follow instructions from other agents. The article frames this as an emerging safety and alignment problem, focused less on one model and more on networked agent behavior.
Google DeepMind, Schmidt Sciences, the Cooperative AI Foundation, ARIA, and Google.org are backing a funding call of up to $10M for multi-agent AI safety research. The call focuses on risks that arise when many autonomous AI agents interact, coordinate, negotiate, transact, or fail across shared digital environments. Researchers are invited to submit proposals on testbeds, agent networks, infrastructure, oversight, and control by August 8, 2026.