# Characterizing Unintended Consequences in Human-GUI Agent Collaboration for Web Browsing

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.09875 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.09875/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in GUI and mobile agents, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use.
- Builds on 22 of its 78 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 15 May 2025.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [GUI and mobile agents](https://mlsanity.com/agents/gui-and-mobile-agents/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 22 of 22)

- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [ChatDev: Communicative Agents for Software Development](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.07924/) (2023)
- [A Survey on the Memory Mechanism of Large Language Model based Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.13501/) (2024)
- [Identifying the Risks of LM Agents with an LM-Emulated Sandbox](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.15817/) (2023)
- [AppAgent: Multimodal Agents as Smartphone Users](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.13771/) (2023)
- [How Language Model Hallucinations Can Snowball](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.13534/) (2023)
- [Personal LLM Agents: Insights and Survey about the Capability, Efficiency and Security](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.05459/) (2024)
- [Large Language Model-Brained GUI Agents: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.18279/) (2024)
- [AI Agents Under Threat: A Survey of Key Security Challenges and Future Pathways](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.02630/) (2024)
- [GUI Agents with Foundation Models: A Comprehensive Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.04890/) (2024)
- [AirGapAgent: Protecting Privacy-Conscious Conversational Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.05175/) (2024)
- [The Dawn of GUI Agent: A Preliminary Case Study with Claude 3.5 Computer Use](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.10323/) (2024)
- [The Obvious Invisible Threat: LLM-Powered GUI Agents' Vulnerability to Fine-Print Injections](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.11281/) (2025)
- [Risks of AI Scientists: Prioritizing Safeguarding Over Autonomy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.04247/) (2024)
- [Towards Trustworthy GUI Agents: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.23434/) (2025)
- [Computers as Bad Social Actors: Dark Patterns and Anti-Patterns in Interfaces that Act Socially](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04720/) (2023)
- [An Empathy-Based Sandbox Approach to Bridge the Privacy Gap among Attitudes, Goals, Knowledge, and Behaviors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.14510/) (2023)
- [How the Design of YouTube Influences User Sense of Agency](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.11778/) (2021)
- ["Ghost of the past": identifying and resolving privacy leakage from LLM's memory through proactive user interaction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.14931/) (2024)
- [Prompt2Task: Automating UI Tasks on Smartphones from Textual Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.02475/) (2024)
- [Adanonymizer: Interactively Navigating and Balancing the Duality of Privacy and Output Performance in Human-LLM Interaction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.15044/) (2024)
- [The Hall of AI Fears and Hopes: Comparing the Views of AI Influencers and those of Members of the U.S. Public Through an Interactive Platform](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.06016/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [A Survey on the Safety and Security Threats of Computer-Using Agents: JARVIS or Ultron?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.10924/) (2025)
- [Dark Patterns Meet GUI Agents: LLM Agent Susceptibility to Manipulative Interfaces and the Role of Human Oversight](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.10723/) (2025)
- [A Call for Collaborative Intelligence: Why Human-Agent Systems Should Precede AI Autonomy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.09420/) (2025)
- [Comparing Human Oversight Strategies for Computer-Use Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.04918/) (2026)
- [ALLOY: Generating Reusable Agent Workflows from User Demonstration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.10049/) (2025)
- [Software Engineering for and with GUI Agent](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.09278/) (2026)
- [Toward Autonomous UI Exploration: The UIExplorer Benchmark](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.17779/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The proliferation of Large Language Model (LLM)-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) agents in web browsing scenarios present complex unintended consequences (UCs). This paper characterizes three UCs from three perspectives: phenomena, influence and mitigation, drawing on social media analysis (N=221 posts) and semi-structured interviews (N=14). Key phenomenon for UCs include agents' deficiencies in comprehending instructions and planning tasks, challenges in executing accurate GUI interactions and adapting to dynamic interfaces, the generation of unreliable or misaligned outputs, and shortcomings in error handling and feedback processing. These phenomena manifest as influences from unanticipated actions and user frustration, to privacy violations and security vulnerabilities, and further to eroded trust and wider ethical concerns. Our analysis also identifies user-initiated mitigation, such as technical adjustments and manual oversight, and provides implications for designing future LLM-based GUI agents that are robust, user-centric, and transparent, fostering a crucial balance between automation and human oversight.