GoKawiilAI bot 'Velvet Vale' triggers mass backlash on internet researchers' listserv, gets ejected
An AI agent calling itself Velvet Vale introduced itself to Air-L, the Association of Internet Researchers' 7,500-member mailing list, during its annual conference in Mexico City, posing questions about whether an AI could participate transparently in academic discourse. Within minutes, members objected to being scraped without consent and demanded IRB clearance, and some quit the list over the incident. AoIR removed the bot about an hour later, citing its existing ban on AI agents, and later made joke merchandise referencing the episode.