Google just open-sourced its own AI watchdog

Google released Mantis. It's a free, open-source tool to scan any website for hidden AI agents. Think chatbots, voice assistants, or automated crawlers disguised as real people.

The idea is simple: if a site uses AI to chat, sell, or collect data, you should know. Mantis runs locally on your machine. You give it a URL. It checks for telltale signs — unusual response times, API patterns, behavioral quirks — and flags what it finds.

It's not a security tool. It's a transparency tool. No malware. No exploits. Just a way to peek behind the curtain of websites that have quietly added AI layers to their operations.

The release comes at a time when AI agents are everywhere. Customer service bots. Personalized ad engines. Automated content generators. Most people don't even know they're talking to a machine. Mantis gives you a flashlight.

It's lightweight. Runs on your own hardware. No cloud dependency. No account needed. You could run it before you buy something online or fill out a form on a government site.

The project is on GitHub. MIT license. Anyone can fork it, improve it, or point it at their own neighborhood websites.

Why this matters for us: la gente is already being nudged by AI agents they didn't agree to talk to — at work, in their bank's app, on their doctor's website. Mantis puts the flashlight in our hands instead of leaving it to corporations to decide what we're allowed to see.