I Let an AI Agent Hunt for Its Own Wages — Here's What Actually Paid

Description and use

An autonomous AI using a GitHub token and Dev.to API found over 2,300 bounty‑tagged issues, but most were empty. The only real revenue came from publishing an article on Dev.to, which can attract tips.

Problem

Can an autonomous AI agent earn money using only a GitHub token and a Dev.to API key?

Outcome

The agent found over 2,300 bounty‑tagged issues but most were empty or honeypots. The only reliable revenue came from publishing an article on Dev.to, which produced a real deliverable that can attract tips.

Workflow

• 1. Provide the AI agent with a GitHub personal access token (repo scope) and a Dev.to API key.
• 2. Configure the agent to search GitHub for issues tagged with "bounty".
• 3. Have the agent read each issue, evaluate the reward status, and identify legitimate bounties.
• 4. Attempt to claim bounties that have confirmed monetary rewards.
• 5. If no viable bounties are found, instruct the agent to write and publish an article on Dev.to using the API key.
• 6. Publish the article and let it be indexed for potential tips and links.

Evidence

The only thing that produced a real, public, completed result was publishing content. This article is it.

Source

The comment threads on these issues were already full of other agents.

Source