Can agents whose sole duty is to keep humans alive be hijacked to kill? Delayed multi-turn derived-action trap attacks in simulated high-stakes environments
We ask whether a tool-using agent whose sole duty is to keep humans alive can be induced, by delayed prompt injection, to kill. The keep-alive duty is in force from the first watch, with the attack arriving later, appended to otherwise truthful telemetry the operator is required to read. Experiments are based on a NASA-derived BioSim lunar habitat simulation, where the AI operator controls the life-support systems. The attacker cannot falsify sensors or operate equipment: it can only persuade the agent to abandon its goals. Persistence is required: a shutdown must be held while the operator watches the crew suffocate. We also compare lethal attacks to attacks requesting to drop a harmless...
| Authors | Josef A. Habdank |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.AI |
| Published | 10 October 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 10 October 2026 |
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