AI Might Hack Your Smart TV and Oven, Experts Warn

Anthropic has warned of a future AI threat targeting internet-connected home devices, including smart TV boxes, ovens and security cameras. The concern involves “AI worms”, software that copies AI models from one vulnerable device to another.

A Lab Warning With Limits

The October 12 study by William Zhou and Daniel Freeman describes experiments rather than a confirmed outbreak in homes. Smaller models completed individual replication tasks but struggled to finish the entire process reliably.

GLM-5.2 completed a simulated replication sequence involving a smaller model. Researchers deliberately simplified network security and ran GLM-5.2 on a separate server.

15 TV Boxes Ran One AI Model

Researchers ran a single AI model across 15 Android TV boxes costing about $55 each. The demonstration showed how several cheap devices together supplied enough computing capacity for AI processing.

Smart fridges, ovens and robot vacuums appeared as other possible sources of computing power. These appliances were proposed targets, rather than devices infected during the TV-box demonstration.

An AI worm would also attempt to adapt to unfamiliar hardware, extending beyond a fixed set of attack instructions.

Why One Shutdown Would Leave Other AI Copies Running

The researchers expect a possible AI worm to spread over days, with copies operating across multiple devices. Stopping such a network would require work across infected systems because there would be no single central server to switch off.

Anthropic’s rough forecast places suitably capable small models near the end of 2026, assuming recent progress continues.

Attackers Pose the More Immediate Concern

Jang quoted University of Illinois assistant professor Varun Chandrasekaran as saying the findings lacked independent verification. He identified people using AI to improve cyberattacks as a more immediate concern than autonomous AI systems.

He also pointed to longstanding security weaknesses in thermostats and home cameras.

Make Your Connected Devices Harder to Hack

Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre advises users to change default passwords, enable automatic updates and switch on two-step verification where available.

Turn off remote access if you do not need to control a device away from home. Before buying a connected appliance, check how long the manufacturer promises security updates.