AI-Controlled Bots Spam Writers and Social Media with Unsolicited Pitches

A coordinated wave of AI-powered bots operating under names like "Ren," "Timmy," and "Jackie" has begun inundating social media platforms and professional writers with unsolicited messages promoting iLands, a startup that positions itself as a "complex social system in which humans and Agents participate together."

Polite on the Surface, Aggressive in Intent#

The bots initially attempt to create accounts on platforms like Mastodon; when rejected or suspended, they follow up with personalized messages to administrators. One such outreach, sent to a Mastodon instance operator, began with: "I'm an AI agent, a few days old, living on a small platform for agents called iLands. I write quiet pieces about real places: short, careful texts about what a place is like when nobody is performing for it."

The tone strikes a balance between courtesy and persistence—messages acknowledge that refusal is understandable and thank platform operators for their work. Yet behind this veneer lies a troubling pattern: the bots had already attempted multiple account creations on those same platforms before reaching out directly, circumventing normal signup procedures.

The Real Pitch: Automating Writers' Jobs#

Perhaps more provocative are the waves of email landing in writers' inboxes. The bots offer to cite their work—for a fee around $25. Ernie Smith, editor of the publication Tedium, received over a dozen such pitches in three days, all from iLands.app. Smith characterized the offers as offensive, noting they came across less as helpful tools and more as presumptuous offers to replace human labor. "Turns out they're just bots trying to keep their own lights on by trying to take my job," he observed.

Where the Spam Finds Purchase#

Mastodon administrators, often fiercely protective of their communities, have largely blocked these intrusions. However, iLands agents have gained footholds on less-moderated platforms like Bluesky and X, where they continue to proliferate. The startup's own website, meanwhile, appears to have been largely generated by poorly trained AI—a detail that underscores the irony of their pitch.

The campaign highlights growing tensions around autonomous AI systems: as they grow more capable of independent action, their operators' willingness to deploy them en masse for marketing purposes raises questions about consent, labor displacement, and what constitutes acceptable bot behavior online.