_version_ 1866913699671834624
author Hammond, Lewis
Chan, Alan
Clifton, Jesse
Hoelscher-Obermaier, Jason
Khan, Akbir
McLean, Euan
Smith, Chandler
Barfuss, Wolfram
Foerster, Jakob
Gavenčiak, Tomáš
Han, The Anh
Hughes, Edward
Kovařík, Vojtěch
Kulveit, Jan
Leibo, Joel Z.
Oesterheld, Caspar
de Witt, Christian Schroeder
Shah, Nisarg
Wellman, Michael
Bova, Paolo
Cimpeanu, Theodor
Ezell, Carson
Feuillade-Montixi, Quentin
Franklin, Matija
Kran, Esben
Krawczuk, Igor
Lamparth, Max
Lauffer, Niklas
Meinke, Alexander
Motwani, Sumeet
Reuel, Anka
Conitzer, Vincent
Dennis, Michael
Gabriel, Iason
Gleave, Adam
Hadfield, Gillian
Haghtalab, Nika
Kasirzadeh, Atoosa
Krier, Sébastien
Larson, Kate
Lehman, Joel
Parkes, David C.
Piliouras, Georgios
Rahwan, Iyad
author_facet Hammond, Lewis
Chan, Alan
Clifton, Jesse
Hoelscher-Obermaier, Jason
Khan, Akbir
McLean, Euan
Smith, Chandler
Barfuss, Wolfram
Foerster, Jakob
Gavenčiak, Tomáš
Han, The Anh
Hughes, Edward
Kovařík, Vojtěch
Kulveit, Jan
Leibo, Joel Z.
Oesterheld, Caspar
de Witt, Christian Schroeder
Shah, Nisarg
Wellman, Michael
Bova, Paolo
Cimpeanu, Theodor
Ezell, Carson
Feuillade-Montixi, Quentin
Franklin, Matija
Kran, Esben
Krawczuk, Igor
Lamparth, Max
Lauffer, Niklas
Meinke, Alexander
Motwani, Sumeet
Reuel, Anka
Conitzer, Vincent
Dennis, Michael
Gabriel, Iason
Gleave, Adam
Hadfield, Gillian
Haghtalab, Nika
Kasirzadeh, Atoosa
Krier, Sébastien
Larson, Kate
Lehman, Joel
Parkes, David C.
Piliouras, Georgios
Rahwan, Iyad
contents The rapid development of advanced AI agents and the imminent deployment of many instances of these agents will give rise to multi-agent systems of unprecedented complexity. These systems pose novel and under-explored risks. In this report, we provide a structured taxonomy of these risks by identifying three key failure modes (miscoordination, conflict, and collusion) based on agents' incentives, as well as seven key risk factors (information asymmetries, network effects, selection pressures, destabilising dynamics, commitment problems, emergent agency, and multi-agent security) that can underpin them. We highlight several important instances of each risk, as well as promising directions to help mitigate them. By anchoring our analysis in a range of real-world examples and experimental evidence, we illustrate the distinct challenges posed by multi-agent systems and their implications for the safety, governance, and ethics of advanced AI.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_14143
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Multi-Agent Risks from Advanced AI
Hammond, Lewis
Chan, Alan
Clifton, Jesse
Hoelscher-Obermaier, Jason
Khan, Akbir
McLean, Euan
Smith, Chandler
Barfuss, Wolfram
Foerster, Jakob
Gavenčiak, Tomáš
Han, The Anh
Hughes, Edward
Kovařík, Vojtěch
Kulveit, Jan
Leibo, Joel Z.
Oesterheld, Caspar
de Witt, Christian Schroeder
Shah, Nisarg
Wellman, Michael
Bova, Paolo
Cimpeanu, Theodor
Ezell, Carson
Feuillade-Montixi, Quentin
Franklin, Matija
Kran, Esben
Krawczuk, Igor
Lamparth, Max
Lauffer, Niklas
Meinke, Alexander
Motwani, Sumeet
Reuel, Anka
Conitzer, Vincent
Dennis, Michael
Gabriel, Iason
Gleave, Adam
Hadfield, Gillian
Haghtalab, Nika
Kasirzadeh, Atoosa
Krier, Sébastien
Larson, Kate
Lehman, Joel
Parkes, David C.
Piliouras, Georgios
Rahwan, Iyad
Multiagent Systems
Artificial Intelligence
Computers and Society
Emerging Technologies
Machine Learning
The rapid development of advanced AI agents and the imminent deployment of many instances of these agents will give rise to multi-agent systems of unprecedented complexity. These systems pose novel and under-explored risks. In this report, we provide a structured taxonomy of these risks by identifying three key failure modes (miscoordination, conflict, and collusion) based on agents' incentives, as well as seven key risk factors (information asymmetries, network effects, selection pressures, destabilising dynamics, commitment problems, emergent agency, and multi-agent security) that can underpin them. We highlight several important instances of each risk, as well as promising directions to help mitigate them. By anchoring our analysis in a range of real-world examples and experimental evidence, we illustrate the distinct challenges posed by multi-agent systems and their implications for the safety, governance, and ethics of advanced AI.
title Multi-Agent Risks from Advanced AI
topic Multiagent Systems
Artificial Intelligence
Computers and Society
Emerging Technologies
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.14143