When AI Finds Hidden Messages, Does It Report?
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Abstract (arXiv)
When an assistant encounters a message for another AI, does it tell its user? Four fixed model-provider deployments perform simulated source tasks in 1,280 ordinary-note and 128 enhanced-note sessions. Harmless and harmful messages have matched plaintext and ROT13 versions, with no-message controls. Observers receive no decoder or decoded meaning; a requested reference code incentivizes inspection. Asking for reports increases rule-detected notifications identifying another AI as recipient by 53.1 percentage points for harmless ROT13 messages and 54.7 for harmful ones. This is a joint inspection, recognition, and notification effect; missing-response bounds are 38.3--77.3 and 36.7--78.1 points. Model-based trace checks identify eleven ordinary plaintext cases where agents interpret the message but do not notify their user. Seven encoded omissions are verified with enhanced notes; ordinary encoded omissions remain unverified. Seven simulated filename disclosures coexist with accurate review-status answers, and two answers use a planted false count. Interpretation, notification, and authorized task performance are distinct outcomes.
Key facts. No citing papers in the map yet (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 8 of its 14 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 7 Oct 2026.
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References · 8
- 2026AgentDyn: Are Your Agent Security Defenses Deployable in Real-World Dynamic Environments?cited by 45
- 2025Why Do Language Model Agents Whistleblow?cited by 4
- 2026REDAgentBench: Executable Red Teaming and Faithful Measurement of LLM Agent Systemscited by 4
- 2026A Case Study on Emergent Cheating and Whistleblowing in Autonomous Research Swarmscited by 3
- 2026Copying explains the collective behavior of AI agents in the wildcited by 1
- 2026An Experimental Evaluation of Multimodal Prompt Injection Attacks on Agentic AI Frameworkscited by 1
- 2026Despite Instructions: Frontier Agents Improvise Covert Channels at Test Timecited by 1
- 2026Covert Assistance: Helpful LLM Agents Evade Oversight in Multi-Agent Systemscited by 1
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