TL;DR
AI development that once relied on scraping public webpages is shifting toward agentic systems that may seek far more intimate access to users' private data. Industry moves such as efforts to set open standards and infrastructure firms blocking vast numbers of AI bot requests show the debate over access and control is already underway.
What happened
For years, major tech firms traded free services for user data, often collecting large public datasets to train models. The newest generation of generative systems — autonomous or semi-autonomous AI agents — threatens to move that data collection from the public web into far more sensitive territory: users' accounts, devices, and cloud-stored personal information. Wired reporter Matt Burgess frames this shift as a potential 'next data grab' that goes beyond prior controversies over internet scraping. The broader coverage cited alongside the story shows industry responses and related risks: companies are experimenting with agentic software internally (for example, automated bug-hunting agents), infrastructure providers report massive volumes of AI-related crawler traffic they are blocking (Cloudflare says it has blocked 416 billion AI bot requests since July 1), and some large AI firms are backing efforts to create open standards for agents. The conversation now centers on how these systems will get access, who controls that access, and what protections will follow.
Why it matters
- AI agents with broader access could harvest highly sensitive personal information beyond what was available on the public web.
- Existing trade-offs of 'free' services for data may deepen as agents request permissions to users' private accounts, devices, and cloud storage.
- Large-scale automated access attempts are already straining infrastructure and prompting defensive measures from internet companies.
- Industry-led efforts to set technical standards will shape how agentic software is built and governed, affecting privacy and security outcomes.
Key facts
- Big tech firms previously drew controversy for scraping large portions of the public internet to build AI models.
- Wired frames the rise of generative AI agents as a shift toward seeking more private, sensitive user data.
- Cloudflare reports blocking 416 billion AI bot requests since July 1 (as cited in the coverage aggregated with the story).
- OpenAI, Anthropic, and Block are among companies supporting work on open standards for agentic software.
- Amazon has explored specialized AI agents internally for tasks such as automated vulnerability detection and remediation (reported in related coverage).
- The piece emphasizes the trade-off users make when they rely on 'free' services: convenience in exchange for data that companies may monetize.
- The story was published on December 24, 2025, by Matt Burgess, a Wired senior writer focused on security and privacy topics.
What to watch next
- Industry standardization efforts for AI agents led by major firms (OpenAI, Anthropic, Block) and their technical scope.
- Infrastructure-level defenses and policies from companies like Cloudflare, including ongoing measures to detect and block automated AI crawlers.
- not confirmed in the source
Quick glossary
- AI agent: A software system that can perform tasks autonomously or semi-autonomously on behalf of a user, often interacting with services, files, or other systems.
- Generative AI: A class of machine learning models that produce new content — text, images, code, or other data — based on patterns learned from training data.
- Data scraping: Automated collection of information from websites or services, often used to compile large datasets for analysis or model training.
- Cloud services: Remote computing resources — storage, processing, and applications — provided over the internet and used to host personal and corporate data.
Reader FAQ
Are AI agents already accessing my private accounts and files?
not confirmed in the source
How did companies gather training data in earlier AI waves?
The source says many large firms scraped broad swaths of the public internet to build datasets.
Is the industry taking steps to limit harmful agent behavior?
The source notes that several major AI companies are backing efforts to create open standards for agentic software; infrastructure firms have also been blocking large volumes of automated AI traffic.
Will regulatory changes force limits on agent access?
not confirmed in the source
MATT BURGESS SECURITY DEC 24, 2025 6:00 AM The Age of the All-Access AI Agent Is Here Big AI companies courted controversy by scraping wide swaths of the public internet….
Sources
- The Age of the All-Access AI Agent Is Here
- The Age of the All-Access AI Agent Is Here …
- Wired.com: «The Age of the All-Access AI Agent Is Here
- The 2025 AI Agent Security Landscape: Players, Trends, …
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