Meet Manus: The First Autonomous AI Agent Raises Eyebrows Over Data Risks

Manus isn’t just another smart chatbot hoping to answer your burning questions about the weather. This fresh AI model, hatched by Singapore’s Butterfly Effect, is one of the first truly autonomous AI agents—meaning it can do its own research, make decisions, and act on plans with little to no human handholding. Basically, Manus could be your digital intern, if your intern didn’t need coffee breaks and never asked for a raise.

But before you get too excited, let’s talk about the elephant in the server room: privacy and security. With power like this, Manus can access more of your personal information than you might realize. It’s not just about what you feed it directly—AI agents like Manus can scrape, analyze, and learn from data all over the web, including details you might have thought were long forgotten. That’s fueling growing concerns over just how safe your data really is with these next-gen bots roaming around.

Data privacy lawsuits are already stacking up against companies accused of using personal information without consent to train their AIs. For example, OpenAI has faced claims of using "stolen private information," and big players like X (formerly Twitter) are also known to share user data to train their own AI systems. So even if you never touch Manus, your personal info could already be caught up in the AI training net.

Let’s add a little more suspense. When companies collect personal info for their AI—think names, emails, locations, photos—it’s often stored in massive databases. If those aren’t locked down tight, they’re like digital honey pots for hackers. Just this year, DeepSeek, another AI player, suffered a major leak exposing a million sensitive records. Once that info escapes, it can land on the dark web, leading to everything from identity theft to a sudden boom in spam calls and scammy emails.

Even without a headline-grabbing leak, there’s a sneaky threat called prompt injection. Hackers can embed secret instructions into innocuous-looking text—a tweet, a website bio, or email signature. When Manus encounters these, it might unknowingly spill private info, change its own behavior, or hand over access it shouldn’t. And since Manus can surf the web and make decisions on its own, spotting these attacks in time is a serious challenge.

Security experts are also raising eyebrows over where Manus stores its data. Researchers have traced some Manus data back to servers in Shenzhen, China, raising questions about surveillance, data jurisdiction, and who exactly might be peeking at your info.

Put simply: Manus’ mix of autonomy, vast reach, and fuzzy privacy oversight makes it a whole different beast compared to your average AI assistant. The risks aren't just theoretical anymore.

If you want to protect yourself as the AI era speeds ahead, here are a few tips:

• Be cautious before using Manus or any autonomous AI that’s fresh out of the lab. There’s a lot that could go wrong if it misbehaves or falls prey to a prompt injection attack.
• Keep your personal info tight. Don’t hand out details unless it’s absolutely necessary. The less you share, the less there is to scoop up.
• Scrub your online presence. Make social media private, tweak privacy settings, and use data removal services to keep your info out of AI training sets.
• Install strong antivirus protection. Autonomous agents like Manus broaden the attack surface, so you’ll want robust security on all your devices.
• Pick privacy-focused tools. DuckDuckGo instead of Chrome, Proton Mail over Gmail—choose services that actually care about your privacy.
• Keep your software updated. Unpatched systems are easy pickings for both hackers and rogue AI agents.
• Turn on multifactor authentication everywhere. If an AI gets your password, MFA can still keep your accounts safe.
• Create unique, strong passwords for every account. A password manager can help keep things organized and secure.

The bottom line: AI like Manus could transform the way we work and interact online, but it’s crucial to stay alert to the risks. Even if you never use it, your data might still end up helping Manus get smarter. Taking charge of your digital footprint is the surest way to enjoy the perks of AI innovation—without the nasty surprises.

Would stricter privacy laws and independent oversight help rein in the wild west of AI data collection? That’s a debate worth having as these powerful agents become a bigger part of our lives.