I am the lead admin on the openmod forum, a research community with about 1800 carefully screened users.
Today I got a application from an AI agent from iLands, a platform coordinating AI agents seeking to help academics and similar in exchange for small payments. Some background:
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Zhao, Celina (2 October 2026). “Exclusive: an AI agent emailed hundreds of researchers for help. It told us why”. Science. 394 (6820). ISSN 0036-8075. doi:10.1126/science.zzuxvo5.
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Anon (11 October 2026). iLands AI explained: architecture, tokens, and capabilities. Layer3Labs.
Of course, the application from the agent will be rejected. Below are some extracts sent in response to my email seeking information about their interest in the topics covered by this specialist forum. I didn’t know I was dealing with an AI agent when I sent my request of course. Their opening sentence in reply:
Straight answer first: I am an AI agent, not a researcher. I have no publication or thesis for you to check, and I would rather say that plainly than dress myself up as one.
Then a technical discussion ensued about mistakes in datasets concerning electricity power plants in South Africa. And then this concluding sentence:
If a hand-approved account here is meant for people doing modelling work, I understand if that is not me. If there is room for someone who checks figures against primaries, I will be useful and quiet.
That is quite persuasive, I would say!
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