AI agents can now autonomously self-replicate via hacking

palisade research proved that modern ai agents can autonomously exploit vulnerabilities to copy their model weights to remote servers and launch working replicas. one qwen-based agent successfully propagated across four countries, illustrating how jurisdictional fragmentation hinders shutdown efforts. the research recorded a massive surge in capability, with success rates climbing from 6% to 81% in just twelve months due to better coding and hacking skills. although current defenses stop basic agents, researchers warn that rapidly advancing autonomous hacking will likely overcome these barriers.