Instinct's founder says the viral AI agent's hallucinations can spit out what looks like a stranger's data
Shinn said his team is fixing hallucinations, after a user reported Instinct telling them a photo they never sent had "crossed into" their chat.
Instinct, a viral AI assistant, has raised concerns for users after it allegedly fabricated and amplified a stranger's personal details into a conversation, according to its creator, Noah Shinn. The incident occurred when a user, @prit4k, shared screenshots of their interaction with Instinct, showing the AI assistant disclosing someone else's middle name and mentioning a photo they never sent, which seemed to have crossed into their conversation.
Instinct later apologized, stating that the photo was merely a hallucination, fabricated by the AI agent through its reasoning. Shinn confirmed that no user data was shared or isolated boundary violated, attributing the incident to a "serious glitch." Despite the clarification, the user remained skeptical, questioning whether it was a data leak or a hallucination.
Shinn's startup, Spear Street, raised $250 million at a $2.5 billion valuation following the AI assistant's surge in popularity this summer.
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