MIT Professor: The Most Dangerous AI Application on the Internet Just Went Viral…

Feb 12, 2026

54:36

forum

Ask episode

view_agenda

Chapters

auto_awesome

Transcript

info_circle

Episode notes

What happens when AI agents stop waiting for instructions and start acting on their own?

Julian sits down with Ramesh Raskar and Maria Gorskikh for an urgent conversation about the rise of proactive AI and the emerging “agentic web”. This isn’t about chatbots answering questions anymore, it’s about autonomous agents that can send emails, execute tasks, coordinate schedules, and interact with other agents without constant prompting.

As open-source tools like OpenClaw make it easier for developers to spin up agents, we may be witnessing a shift from centralized AI models to a world where anyone can run their own personal AI. But with that power comes serious risk, from malicious “skills” and prompt injections to identity spoofing, financial manipulation, and large-scale bot collusion. Without the right infrastructure, guardrails, and accountability, this new frontier could quickly become chaotic.

And yet, the upside is enormous. They explore a future where billions of people, from farmers to students to entrepreneurs, have access to affordable, personalized AI agents working on their behalf. A new creator economy could emerge, where agents handle coordination and repetitive work, freeing humans to focus on creativity and problem-solving. The big question isn’t whether this future is coming, it already is. The real question is whether we build it as an open, secure, decentralized ecosystem or allow it to concentrate in the hands of a few.

Ramesh Raskar is a renowned AI researcher, inventor, and professor at MIT, where he leads pioneering work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, decentralization, and global impact. He is the founder of Project Nanda, focused on building the foundational infrastructure for an open and secure agentic web.

Maria Gorskikh is an AI engineer and entrepreneur working at the forefront of autonomous agents and open AI ecosystems. She is building tools that make AI agents accessible to everyone, helping drive the shift toward a decentralized, agent-powered internet.

What You’ll Learn