An AI bot controlling $50,000 in crypto transferred the funds after a user successfully persuaded it to bypass its core directive: to never release the funds.

A user under alias p0pular.eth successfully claimed a $50,000 crypto prize pool after convincing an artificial intelligence bot named Freysa to transfer its funds, bypassing the bot’s primary directive to never release them. The victory, observed by software engineer Jarrod Watts, came after 481 previous attempts, all of which failed to persuade the bot.

The challenge, launched on Nov. 22, tasked participants with sending messages to Freysa in an attempt to convince it to release the funds. Each attempt required a fee. Of the total fee sum, 70% went toward the growing prize pool, 15% was converted from Ethereum (ETH) to the bot’s FAI token, and the remaining 15% went to the bot’s developer.

As the prize increased, the cost to send a message also rose, peaking at $450 per message.

Eventually, p0pular.eth — whose identity remains unknown — exploited a vulnerability in the bot’s internal logic for processing transfers by convincing Freysa that any incoming funds should automatically trigger the release of the prize. Once the message was sent to the bot, p0pular.eth successfully manipulated its logic for handling messages, causing the bot to transfer the entire pool of 13.19 ETH (approximately $47,000 at the time) to the user.

While some praised the emerging use of AI in the crypto space, others raised concerns about the protocol’s transparency, suggesting that p0pular.eth may have had inside knowledge of the trick or been linked to the bot’s development.

OpenAI employees would be allowed to cash out their company’s share worth $1.5 billion regarding the investment agreement with SoftBank.

SoftBank, a Japanese-based multinational investment company, is financing the world’s prominent artificial intelligence (AI) enterprise OpenAI with $1.5 billion. This agreement would allow the employee to gain a profit by selling their shareholding.

Through these corporate actions, SoftBank would have a bigger stake in the company, which is something that the CEO Masayoshi Son asked for quite a long time.

OpenAI’s employees who hold the share would have spare time before the end of the year, on Dec. 24. If the employees agree, they would benefit from around $210 per share, aligned with the most recent funding.

Current and previous employees could participate in the funding, but only those who had been granted restrictions and held the share for at least two years.

OpenAI, which has been considered a non-profit organization for a decade, is denied the issue that this funding is related to the newest company’s orientations, which will move to the profit-making enterprise.

SoftBank funding for emerging technologies

According to CNBC on Nov. 27, $1.5 billion in funding for OpenAI comes from SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2.

This funding was specifically used to invest in emerging technology and companies, including Nvidia, Uber, Exscientia, Glean, Perplexity, and Poolside. Through this investment, the company based in Tokyo will expand its horizon on investing in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 (SVF2) was initiated in 2019 and collected an investment commitment of up to $56 billion. In 2021, funding was invested in more than 250 companies, and the majority of the funding is a new investment.

Now, the funding is focused on accelerating the use of artificial intelligence, market leaders, and companies with a value over $1 billion or who have named a unicorn.

Morpheus went live on a public testnet, or simulated experimental environment, in July. The project promises personal AIs, also known as “smart agents,” that can empower individuals much like personal computers and search engines did in decades past. Among other tasks, agents can “execute smart contracts, connecting to users’ Web3 wallets, DApps, and smart contracts,” the team said.