TOKYO, Japan: Peter Steinberger’s AI agent tool OpenClaw has rapidly gained global attention for its ability to carry out real-world tasks, such as automatically checking him in for a flight to Tokyo.
Although AI has not yet become a universal personal assistant, Steinberger believes that shift is imminent. “you’ll see much more of that this year because this is the year of agents”, he said during an interview in Tokyo, while acknowledging that “There are still some things we need to do to make it better.”
Interest in the technology is growing quickly, with developers increasingly contributing to its evolution and “making the future happen”. OpenClaw allows users to connect it to existing AI models and issue simple instructions through messaging platforms, making interaction feel similar to communicating with a colleague.
Nvidia
The tool has drawn praise from major industry figures, including Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, who described it as “the next ChatGPT”. However, its rise has also sparked concerns over cybersecurity, particularly regarding access to sensitive personal data.
Steinberger created OpenClaw in November while experimenting with AI coding tools to streamline his own digital tasks. He has since joined OpenAI “to drive the next generation of personal agents”, according to CEO Sam Altman.
Reflecting on its origins, Steinberger said, “What you have to know about OpenClaw is, like, it couldn’t have come from those big companies,” adding, “Those companies would have worried too much about what could go wrong instead of just, like — I wanted to just show people I’ve been into the future.”
He suggested that future breakthroughs could come from independent innovators rather than large corporations. The tool has gained strong traction in China, where users are quickly adopting it for tasks such as managing emails and coding. “If you see it as a competition, it certainly looks like China is gaining a lot of momentum”, he said, while noting, “But right now there’s still quite a bit of a leap between the best models from China and the best models in the US.”
OpenClaw
Despite its popularity, OpenClaw has prompted warnings from Chinese authorities over potential risks. Steinberger admitted some concern about misuse, stating, “Yes, I do worry a bit, especially because there’s now a whole cottage industry of companies that try to make a big buck and make it even simpler to install OpenClaw.”
He added, “I purposefully didn’t make it simpler so people would stop and read and understand: what is AI, that AI can make mistakes, what is prompt injection — some basics that you really should understand when you use that technology.”
Still, he compared the technology to a tool that can be used responsibly or dangerously: “if you build a hammer… you can hurt yourself. So should we not build hammers any more”?
ChatGPT
Steinberger also addressed discussions around Moltbook, a platform where AI agents interact, suggesting much of the hype has been exaggerated by users. “A lot of that was, in my view, very much driven by humans to just create those stories,” he said.
Looking ahead, he described the evolution of AI in phases, noting that 2023-2024 “was the year of ChatGPT, last year was the year of the coding agent, this year’s going to be the year of the general agent”.
He concluded by emphasising the importance of wider public engagement with AI, saying, “I love that I helped a lot of people to bring AI from this scary thing into something that is fun and weird and gets them excited, because we need to to make it good for this next century,” and adding, “We need more people to think more about AI.”
