I haven't read up a whole lot on them, but I had an idea either for a run or sidebar story or something and was curious if it was even possible.

can AI's be trapped? could a corp setup some scheme to lure the AI into a specific node and then cut all connections to that node or activate a faraday cage or something around it and basically contain the AI within a single node that is cut off from the Matrix?

could be done fairly easily in some ways, start cutting off the links to its home node forcing it to move where you want it to.

Give it one way out then blow the home node and you have a homless scared AI with limited options and if you have done it right a perfect honey trap node of your own to let it into before you cut it off from the net and have it locked down.

Although this will proberbly all end in tears before bedtime

Ever wonder how the sprite power Hash would affect an AI....

An AI can, fairly easily, be led into a trapped node. Its reliant on external sensors to be aware of its surrounding environments. If its on a node that happens to be jammed, suddenly its trapped there.(unless it has a fiberlink, or a laserlink, or some other means of jumping to a new node) If it doesn't see someone coming - such as if they have very good stealth capabilities, it should be fairly easy to rip out an AI's hardware's wireless link.

The hardpart is finding out where it is in the real world at any given time, and dealing with the defenses around -that- target. For all you know, it might be managing the whole gridguide network for seattle. Or sleazing resources off of a militant policlub chapter's server farm.

I'd have to check SR Companion again, but I'm fairly sure if you kill the power on a node while an AI is in it it's automatically trapped and "knocked out". Not entirely helpful if it does the smart thing and hacks from its home node, but certainly works as a possibility. Killing power on the home node while the AI is inside repairing itself is an autokill though.

Running Wild has some information about capturing protosapient AIs.

These things work differently from metasapients.
Instead od setting up a home node, they have to feed on specific types of data.
You can use a Transfer Data operation on them while they are feeding...send them to a prepared "trap" node, cut it off from the matrix, there ya go.
You just captured a feral AI that you can now train as a matrix pet.