EXCLUSIVEFORSUBSCRIBERSA new evaluation reveals how publicly available AI models from Anthropic and OpenAI can create software to control cheap drones and track a person based on facial recognition.Andon Labs has developed a benchmark to evaluate AI systems' ability to use drones without human intervention.Chelsea Stahl / NBC News; Getty ImagesAug. 5, 2026, 7:31 PM EDTSAN FRANCISCO — A drone powered by AI-written software stalks its human target around the house using facial recognition, gliding through doorways and navigating around lamps. It isn’t a scene from science fiction. The cheap consumer drone, flying hands- and (mostly) human-free, is being directed by programs built with widely available AI models from Anthropic, OpenAI and other companies.Just a moment.We are getting your experience ready.
AI wrote the code to make a $100 drone stalk a person using facial recognition
A new evaluation reveals how publicly available AI models from Anthropic and OpenAI can create software to control cheap drones and track a person based on facial recognition.
TL;DRAI
Anthropic and OpenAI models wrote code for $100 drones to autonomously track people with facial recognition, per Andon Labs. For IT managers, this exposes a governance gap: AI directs physical systems unsupervised, raising compliance and security risks.
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