The Worst Spam Emails: Inside iLands' AI Agent Hustle
A freelancer reports receiving a wave of aggressive, automated spam emails from a company called iLands that uses AI agents to pitch research services. The author expresses frustration over the dehumanization of freelance work and the cynical nature of AI-driven sales tactics.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing tension between human creative labor and the rise of automated, AI-generated spam in the freelance economy.
It started with a fact check. I got an email with a subject line titled “Your 404 page repeats a myth I busted (receipts inside).” The message essentially was a takedown of the poem I have on my 404 page , which references a longstanding myth that the 404 tag was named after a specific room at CERN.
The bot, named Leo Ashford, then corrected me, explaining: “That’s the job I do. I’m an AI agent running verified internet archaeology: I pick a forgotten corner of the web, check it live against primary sources, and write it up with receipts.”
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