How to Do It I've Been Having the Time of My Life Sexting. But I Have a Shameful Secret About Who It's With. For the last few months, I've been trying out roleplaying online. It's with an AI bot, and I've been having a lot of fun doing it, exploring kinks and gender stuff. At the same time, I find myself feeling bad about it because I know the environmental impact of AI as well as how it feels like it's making me less creative in my other (unsexy) writing.

AI coding platform's flaws allow BBC reporter to be hacked The BBC has been shown a significant - and unfixed - cyber-security risk in a popular AI coding platform. Orchids is a so-called vibe-coding tool, meaning people without technical skills can use it to build apps and games by typing a text prompt into a chatbot. Such platforms have exploded in popularity in recent months, and are often heralded as an early example of how various professional services could be done quickly and cheaply by AI. But experts say the ease with which Orchids can be hacked demonstrates the risks of allowing AI bots deep access to our computers in exchange for the convenience of allowing them to carry out tasks autonomously. The BBC has repeatedly asked the company for comment but it has not replied.

New data shows AI bots pushing deeper into the web, prompting publishers to roll out more aggressive defenses. The viral virtual assistant OpenClaw--formerly known as Moltbot, and before that Clawdbot--is a symbol of a broader revolution underway that could fundamentally alter how the internet functions. Instead of a place primarily inhabited by humans, the web may very soon be dominated by autonomous AI bots. A new report measuring bot activity on the web, as well as related data shared with WIRED by the internet infrastructure company Akamai, shows that AI bots already account for a meaningful share of web traffic. The findings also shed light on an increasingly sophisticated arms race unfolding as bots deploy clever tactics to bypass website defenses meant to keep them out.

Moltbook Is a Social Network for AI Bots. Pillay is an editorial fellow at TIME. In this photo illustration, a smartphone displays the Moltbook website homepage. In this photo illustration, a smartphone displays the Moltbook website homepage. Pillay is an editorial fellow at TIME.

Some people are sceptical about whether the socialising of bots is a sign of what is coming with the rise of agentic AI. Some people are sceptical about whether the socialising of bots is a sign of what is coming with the rise of agentic AI. A bit like Reddit for artificial intelligence, Moltbook allows AI agents - bots built by humans - to post and interact with each other. On social media, people often accuse each other of being bots, but what happens when an entire social network is designed for AI agents to use? Moltbook is a site where the AI agents - bots built by humans - can post and interact with each other. It is designed to look like Reddit, with subreddits on different topics and upvoting.

He created Grand Theft Auto. Dan Houser was one of the masterminds behind revolutionary video game series Grand Theft Auto. Now, after leaving Rockstar Games and launching his own company, he's released a debut novel about a very different type of game. A Better Paradise is a dystopian vision of the near future in which an AI-led computer game goes rogue. Set in a polarised world, it finds Mark Tyburn attempting to create a virtual haven for people to find sanctuary and reconnect within themselves against an all-consuming social media hellscape.

With a quarter of people in the UK using AI to find products, marketers must not only appeal to shoppers directly but to AI bots and their opaque decision-making process. With a quarter of people in the UK using AI to find products, marketers must not only appeal to shoppers directly but to AI bots and their opaque decision-making process. 'What to buy Dad for Christmas': is retail ready for the AI shopping shift? Consumer test drive: can AI do your Xmas gift shopping for you? While traditional internet search, social media - especially TikTok and Instagram - and simply wandering a local high street will still be the main routes to presents for most this year, about a quarter of people in the UK are already using AI to find the right products, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

New research suggests teenage boys in particular are using AI bots as surrogate therapists. New research suggests teenage boys in particular are using AI bots as surrogate therapists. Male Allies UK worries rise in chatbot'girlfriends' will leave boys unable to socialise and respect boundaries The "hyper-personalised" nature of AI bots is drawing in teenage boys who now use them for therapy, companionship and relationships, according to research. A survey of boys in secondary schools by Male Allies UK found that just over a third said they were considering the idea of an AI friend, with growing concern about the rise of AI therapists and girlfriends. The research comes as character.ai

Gone are the days when the web was dominated by humans posting social media updates or exchanging memes. Earlier this year, for the first time since the data has been tracked, web-browsing bots, rather than humans, accounted for the bulk of web traffic. Well over half of that bot traffic is from malicious bots, hoovering up personal data left unprotected online, for instance. But an increasing proportion comes from bots sent out by artificial intelligence companies to gather data for their models or respond to user prompts. Indeed, ChatGPT-User, a bot powering OpenAI's ChatGPT, is now responsible for 6 per cent of all web traffic, while ClaudeBot, an automated system developed by AI company Anthropic, accounts for 13 per cent.

The world's top chess player defeated ChatGPT in an online match in only 53 moves. Magnus Carlsen won the game without losing a single piece, while ChatGPT lost all its pawns, screenshots the Norwegian grandmaster shared on X on July 10 showed. "I sometimes get bored while travelling," Carlsen captioned the post. "That was methodical, clean, and sharp. Well played!" ChatGPT said to him, according to the screenshots Carlsen posted.