Episode number: L004

Title: AI browsers: 5 alarming facts – The price of convenience

The hype surrounding AI-powered browsers such as ChatGPT Atlas and Perplexity Comet promises a revolution – the automation of everyday tasks. But the price is high: digital security and privacy.

In this episode, we uncover the often disturbing truths behind this new technology and reveal what users need to know before making the switch. We look at the unresolved risks and the gap between marketing promises and operational reality.

Your assistant as an insider threat: How the "indirect prompt injection" attack method turns AI agents into "confused deputies." Since the agent works with your login credentials, it abuses your full access rights to email and cloud accounts.

The new era of "total surveillance": To be useful, AI browsers need deep insights into your entire digital life. Features such as "browser memories" create detailed profiles that reflect not only habits, but also thoughts, desires, and intentions.

Struggling with simple tasks: The impressive demos do not reflect reality. AI agents fail catastrophically at tasks that require "aesthetic judgment" or navigation in user interfaces designed for humans.

Traditional security is obsolete: Time-tested protective measures such as the Same Origin Policy (SOP) and antivirus tools fail in the face of prompt injection attacks. The architectural weakness of the AI agent itself bypasses established security barriers.

You are in a "browser war": The enormous pressure to release new features quickly leads to the neglect of security and privacy. Users become unwitting test subjects in a live security experiment.

Conclusion: Are you willing to trade digital security and privacy for the tempting convenience of a flawed AI co-pilot?

(Note: This podcast episode was created with the support and structuring of Google's NotebookLM.)