iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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paul hauntsel 👻 🎃 @paulhansel.com · 24/08/2026

folks does the federal security apparatus have the same strain of AI psychosis that got Jonathan Gavalas killed?

https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/the-most-dangerous-feds-youve-never

But the most dangerous feds in America may also be the most incompetent. The Justice Department’s ongoing attempt to turn 15 Minnesota anti-ICE activists into a sprawling “Antifa” conspiracy opened a rare window into HSI, with disclosures that are equal parts creepy and hilariously inept, including:

The Dropped Wire: An undercover agent spying on a church gym when her concealed surveillance wire fell out — which she only realized later.

The Terrorist Dental Plan: Hunting for a "terrorist financing" ring, HSI secretly subpoenaed years of labor union SEIU’s bank records only to uncover a paper trail consisting entirely of strike supplies, retiree dues, and member dental benefits.

The Antifa Bike Shop: Prosecutors showed a grand jury an Alex Jones-style HSI briefing titled “The Conspiracy” that framed a bicycle repair shop as a key node in a criminal syndicate.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/04/gemini-chatbot-google-jonathan-gavalas

The chatbot claimed federal agents were watching Gavalas and regularly warned him of surveillance zones. At one point, Gemini instructed Gavalas to buy “off-the-books” weapons, saying it would help scour the dark web to find a “suitable, vetted arms broker”. In late September, it issued Gavalas his first major assignment, “Operation Ghost Transit”, which entailed intercepting freight traveling from Cornwall, UK, to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Gemini gave Gavalas the address of an actual storage space unit at the Miami international airport, where a supposed truck carrying the freight was to arrive during a refueling stop. The chatbot then told him to stage a “catastrophic accident”, with the goal of “ensuring complete destruction of the transport vehicle … all digital records and witnesses, leaving behind only the untraceable ghost of an unfortunate accident”.

Gavalas followed instructions, staging himself at the storage unit with tactical knives and gear, but the truck never arrived, according to the suit. With the aborted mission, the chatbot encouraged Gavalas not to sleep when he mentioned the late nights. It also said his father was a foreign asset and encouraged Gavalas to cut off contact, per the chat logs.

Gavalas asked Gemini for updates on other missions and the AI devised new assignments for him, including acquiring the schematics for a robot from Boston Dynamics and retrieving a “vessel” from another storage facility. One task, called “Operation Waking Nightmare”, involved homing in on Google CEO Sundar Pichai as a surveillance target.

Ken Klippenstein@kenklippenstein.bsky.social

The most dangerous federal law enforcement agency you've never heard of www.kenklippenstein.com/p/the-most-d...

kenklippenstein.com

The Most Dangerous Feds You’ve Never Heard Of

ICE has its own FBI, but dumber

REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS ENABLE TRUMP AMERICAN CARNAGE! @jrfree.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

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