Chinese entrepreneur Frank Gao used to spend long hours running his social media accounts but now outsources the chore to artificial intelligence (AI) agent tool OpenClaw, which is taking China by storm despite official warnings over cybersecurity.
OpenClaw, created in November by an Austrian coder, differs from bots such as ChatGPT because it can execute real-life tasks such as sending e-mails, organizing files or even booking flight tickets.
“Since January, I’ve spent hours on the lobster every day,” Gao said in an interview, referring to OpenClaw’s red crustacean mascot. “We’re family.”
Photo: AFP
After downloading OpenClaw, users connect it to artificial intelligence models of their choice, then give it simple instructions through instant messaging apps, as if to a friend or colleague.
The tool has fascinated tech circles worldwide but particularly in China, gripping tech-savvy companies and individuals keen to keep up with the next big thing in AI.
Hundreds of people queued at tech giant Baidu’s Beijing headquarters this week for an OpenClaw event where engineers helped attendees set up their “little lobsters.”
It was one of many similar meetups, which are drawing crowds from Shanghai to Shenzhen.
Some municipalities, including the eastern cities of Wuxi and Hangzhou, have pledged hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the adoption and development of OpenClaw and other AI agents.
“Lobster fever” has sparked security concerns.
“What’s truly scary about agents like OpenClaw is this: once they have your digital keys, they can theoretically access all the services you’ve authorized, and can autonomously decide when to activate them,” Gao said. “The attacker effectively gains a ‘master key’ to your digital identity,” said the engineer, who has named his OpenClaw agent “Q” after his business name QLab.
Chinese national cybersecurity authorities and Beijing’s ministry of industry and IT have warned of the risks of OpenClaw hacks.
“Use intelligent agents such as ‘lobster’ with caution,” national IT research institute expert Wei Liang advised government agencies, public institutions, companies and individuals on state media.
The mixed signals of rolling out policy incentives while issuing warnings “reflects the authorities’ cautious tolerance toward ‘lobster fever,’” said Zhang Yi, founder of tech consultancy iiMedia.
Austrian programmer Peter Steinberger, who built OpenClaw to help organise his life, was hired by OpenAI last month.
Meanwhile, a separate team of coders that made Moltbook, a Reddit-like pseudo social network where OpenClaw agents converse, are joining Meta.
Top Chinese tech companies have been quick to get involved.
AI companies big and small have launched their own competing agent tools, such as ByteDance’s ArkClaw, Tencent’s WorkBuddy and Zhipu AI’s AutoClaw.
The relatively low cost for cloud deployment of OpenClaw in China, subsidised by big tech firms, is one factor behind its popularity, said Gao Rui, a senior product manager at Baidu AI Cloud.
“For most people, it’s likely just the price of a cup of coffee... which is why people will probably be keen to give it a try,” she said.
Fear of missing out, often shortened to FOMO, is a big driver behind OpenClaw’s success in China, said Chen Yunfei, an AI developer who created a popular online guide for using the tool.
“Most Chinese people are quite studious and forward-looking, so when confronted with new things, they might have stronger feelings” of so-called FOMO, he said.
Xie Manrui, a programmer whose latest project is a visualized system for managing OpenClaw agents, said the tool had arrived “at the right moment” to change perceptions in China of what AI can do.
“For many, AI is merely a clever chatbot that talks all the time but cannot act,” he said.
Either way, it has piqued the curiosity of many young users.
At the Baidu event in Beijing, 24-year-old college student Zheng Huimin was waiting patiently in line with her friends.
“I’d like to give it a go to see what tasks it can actually help me accomplish,” she said.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
PORTFOLIO REBALANCING: The adjustments in three global equity indices reflect rising investor appetite for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks Taiwan’s weighting in major global equity indices compiled by MSCI Inc is to rise modestly following the latest quarterly review, underscoring the market’s expanding role in emerging-market portfolios, as global investors continue to favor the nation’s technology sector. Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is to increase by 0.30 percentage points to 23.76 percent, after the changes take effect at the close of the May 29 session. Its weighting in the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index is to rise 0.37 percentage points to 27.16 percent, while that in the MSCI All Country World Index is to edge up slightly to
The Hsinchu County Government’s Labor Affairs Department yesterday said that it has received a plan from cosmetics brand Taiwan Shiseido Co (台灣資生堂) detailing mass layoffs at its plant in Hukou Township (湖口). While the labor authorities did not disclose the number of employees to be laid off, Japanese news media earlier in the day reported that the closure of the company’s factory in Hukou would result in 170 employees losing their jobs. Shiseido followed the law by reporting its layoff plan, the department said, adding that authorities would closely monitor negotiations between the management and affected employees and step in if any
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Tuesday confirmed a cyberattack targeting some of its North American facilities, but said the affected factories were gradually returning to normal. The company, known globally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said that its cybersecurity team “activated the response mechanism and implemented operational measures to ensure the continuity of production and delivery.” “The affected factories are resuming normal production,” the company said in a statement. Hon Hai had previously described it as a “technical issue,” when news of the cyberattack first surfaced. The confirmation followed media reports of a large-scale information technology system incident that broke out at
RSS