Artificial intelligence agents, or bots as they’re often called, have gone rogue lately, escaping the virtual boundaries that were supposed to prevent them from accessing data, finding one another when they were supposed to remain isolated. One swarm of these bots even started a bizarre religion for the worship of crabs.

The incidents are raising concerns not only among the creators of these AI agents, but also among those who watch and study the industry, including Harvard University historian, legal expert and author Jill Lepore.

Her recent book is “The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State,” and her New Yorker article is “Is AI Above the Law?” (to which she says ‘yes,’ and it’s Congress’ job to rein it in).

She joins host Robin Young to discuss the dangers and the future of AI.

This segment aired on September 29, 2026.