Instinct AI assistant raises privacy and security concerns in private testing due to broad data access

Early testers of Instinct, an AI personal assistant still in private access created by a team led by former Sierra research scientist Noah Shinn and operated by Spear Street Technology, report impressive capabilities but express concerns about broad data access permissions, permissive terms of service, and the agent's ability to take autonomous actions. The assistant connects to applications and devices including email, messaging apps, calendar, device audio, location, and screen to perform tasks like booking appointments and managing inboxes.