AI Agents Could Soon Become Full-Time Virtual Employees

The age of digital workers is no longer science fiction. According to a new report, it is on the horizon.

AI-powered virtual employees could hit the workforce within a year, according to Jason Clinton, chief information security officer at Anthropic. In comments to Axios, Clinton noted that, while the technology is advancing fast, major security hurdles remain before fully autonomous digital workers become a reality.

Turning AI agents into full-time employees

The concept behind agentic AI isn’t new. Researchers and developers have been leveraging AI agents for several years, and they’re often used to introduce a level of autonomy that isn’t typically seen in typical AI systems. Modern AI agents are capable of many autonomous activities, including:

Mimicking human behavior

Taking specific actions based on various events 

Gathering and organizing data

Making complex decisions

Interacting with users, the environment, and other integrated systems

The concept of a virtual workforce takes the automation seen in agentic AI to the next level. Not only will virtual workers be able to simulate human actions, collect data, and make key decisions, but they’ll also have their own virtual memories. The AI workers even have their own system login credentials.

Potential issues with agentic AI and virtual employees

However, Clinton pointed out key issues that need to be addressed, including security issues, before agentic AI can replace human workers.

For example, what happens if their accounts are phished, hacked, or otherwise compromised? How much network access should they have? Perhaps even more importantly, who will be held accountable if something goes wrong?

“In that world, there are so many problems that we haven’t solved yet from a security perspective that we need to solve,” Clinton said.

Recognizing these risks, some cybersecurity developers have already started rolling out solutions. New software, including various AI governance tools, is emerging to help monitor and manage “non-human entities” as they enter the workplace.

But security issues are just the tip of the iceberg. Legal and ethical questions about workforce displacement, algorithmic bias, and digital accountability exist. Policymakers and businesses may need to grapple with this dilemma before machines displace large numbers of workers. A recent eWeek article included how humans might make a living if AI takes over the workforce.
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