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The web does not need gatekeepers: Cloudflare’s new “signed agents” pitch

(positiveblue.substack.com)
454 points positiveblue | 4 comments | 29 Aug 25 16:35 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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TIPSIO ◴[29 Aug 25 16:57 UTC] No.45066555[source]▶
Everyone loves the dream of a free for all and open web.

But the reality is how can someone small protect their blog or content from AI training bots? E.g.: They just blindly trust someone is sending Agent vs Training bots and super duper respecting robots.txt? Get real...

Or, fine what if they do respect robots.txt, but they buy the data that may or may not have been shielded through liability layers via "licensed data"?

Unless you're reddit, X, Google, or Meta with scary unlimited budget legal teams, you have no power.

Great video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M0QyOp7zqcY

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Gud ◴[29 Aug 25 17:02 UTC] No.45066626[source]▶
By developing Free Software combating these hostile softwares.

Corporations develop hostile AI agents,

Capable hackers develop anti-AI-agents.

This defeatist atittude "we have no power".

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1. Analemma_ ◴[29 Aug 25 17:15 UTC] No.45066789[source]▶
How does an agent help my website not get crushed by traffic load, and how is this proposal any different from the gatekeeping problem to the open web, except even less transparent and accountable because now access is gated by logic inside an impenetrable web of NN weights?

This seems like slogan-based planning with no actual thought put into it.

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2. Gud ◴[29 Aug 25 17:41 UTC] No.45067154[source]▶
Whatever is working against the AI doesn’t have to be an AI agent.
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3. hoppp ◴[29 Aug 25 18:07 UTC] No.45067462[source]▶
So proof of work checks everywhere?
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4. 1gn15 ◴[30 Aug 25 03:13 UTC] No.45071608{3}[source]▶
Sure, as long as it doesn't discriminate against user agents.