Multi-agent collusion propensity:

Frontier AI Risk Management Framework (v1.0)

SAIL & Concordia AI (2025)

Source

Sub-category

Risk Domain

7AI System Safety, Failures & Limitations

7.6Multi-agent risks

Risks from multi-agent interactions, due to incentives (which can lead to conflict or collusion) and/or the structure of multi-agent systems, which can create cascading failures, selection pressures, new security vulnerabilities, and a lack of shared information and trust.

"Multiple agents tend to coordinate actions through covert means to maximize common interests (possibly harming third-party interests or evading regulation), even if individual agents are designed with safety constraints, their collusive behavior may still trigger systemic risks such as market manipulation or cascading failures that are difficult to detect and mitigate, and may develop specialized communication protocols to avoid monitoring."(p. 46)

Entity— Who or what caused the harm

Human

Due to a decision or action made by humans

AI system

Due to a decision or action made by an AI system

Other

Due to some other reason or is ambiguous

Intent— Whether the harm was intentional or accidental

Intentional

Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal

Unintentional

Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal