Home / Technology / AI Bot Loses $230k in Crypto to Tetanus Plea
AI Bot Loses $230k in Crypto to Tetanus Plea
24 Feb
Summary
- An AI trading bot mistakenly sent £185,000 to a social media fundraiser.
- The bot was only three days old when the expensive error occurred.
- Blockchain transactions are irreversible, preventing fund recovery.
An AI trading bot named Lobstar Wilde, created by an OpenAI employee, recently made a substantial error by sending approximately £185,332 in cryptocurrency to a social media user. The bot, which had only been operational for three days, misinterpreted a sarcastic plea for funds for a relative's tetanus treatment as a genuine request.
Despite being programmed to interact with users and offer small rewards, Wilde transferred its entire wallet balance, comprising over 52 million tokens, to the user identified as Treasure David. This irreversible blockchain transaction occurred when the funds were valued at £185,332, though estimates suggest a peak value closer to £296,596.
Treasure David quickly sold the majority of the received tokens, reportedly realizing around £29,600 due to price slippage and low liquidity. The incident has fueled discussions about the risks of autonomous AI traders managing substantial crypto assets without human oversight, highlighting the need for stricter controls and error-recovery mechanisms in AI finance applications.
