Ethan Mollick Questions Whether Blocking AI Agents Is a Durable Strategy

What happened

@trikcode says Delta is blocking AI agents from booking flights; JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab block agents from accessing accounts; Yelp requires paid data licensing for agents; and Amazon has blocked Grok bot and other shopping agents. They say “the internet is starting to block AI.” Ethan Mollick says this doesn’t seem to be a very long robust strategy in the era of AIs that can use your computer on your behalf.

2 reports

The story so far

Ethan Mollick questioned whether blocking AI agents from websites and services is a durable strategy, arguing that AIs can operate users’ computers on their behalf. His response challenged the approach without establishing that agents can bypass the restrictions cited. Mollick was responding to @trikcode, who said Delta blocks AI agents from booking flights, JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab block agents from accessing accounts, and Amazon has blocked Grok bot and other shopping agents. @trikcode also said Yelp requires paid data licensing for agents—a condition on access rather than an outright ban—and characterized these examples as signs that the internet is starting to block AI.

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