Creating wholly autonomous agents in online worlds

Recent years have seen an explosion in new types of online worlds accessible both to human users and, increasingly, automated electronic systems - from new e-business services to advanced Web applications and Internet based multi-player gaming worlds. The aim of this paper is to consider how it might already be possible (although potentially illegal) to exploit these online environments in order to construct wholly autonomous electronic entities able to act for themselves: sustaining themselves financially, choosing their own actions, interacting with humans - and surviving for extended periods without external assistance. The paper is structured as a "thought experiment" on how mechanisms necessary for self sustainability might be put in place and the potential implications of creating such automated entities.