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Prompted to Death: When Words Become a Denial-of-Service

A customer asks an AI assistant a question. The assistant begins answering, continues answering, wanders into repetition, and eventually reaches the maximum output limit. Nobody stole a password. No prohibited content appeared. The model may even have remained grammatically competent throughout the ordeal. It simply consumed far more computation than the request deserved. ...

January 4, 2026 · 19 min · Zelina