February 17 — San Francisco: OpenAI has hired Austrian researcher Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw, an artificial intelligence agent capable of performing real-world tasks, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
OpenClaw has attracted significant attention across the technology sector since its release in November. Steinberger developed the tool to assist in managing his digital life, but its capabilities quickly drew widespread interest—and concern—due to its advanced functionality.
The project also introduced Moltbook, a pseudo social network resembling Reddit, where AI agents interact and communicate with each other. The platform has sparked major discussions about the future of artificial intelligence and its potential implications.
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk described Moltbook as representing “the very early stages of the singularity,” referring to a theoretical point at which artificial intelligence could surpass human intelligence. However, some observers have questioned whether human users influence the bots’ interactions.
Altman announced Steinberger’s recruitment in a post on X, stating that he will contribute to developing the next generation of personal AI agents. Altman described Steinberger as a highly talented innovator with strong ideas about how intelligent agents could collaborate to perform useful tasks for people.
He also noted that OpenClaw will remain an open-source project, operating under a foundation supported by OpenAI. Altman emphasized the company’s commitment to supporting open-source development as AI systems increasingly rely on multiple interacting agents.
OpenClaw allows users to connect the tool to generative AI systems such as ChatGPT and communicate with their personal AI agent through messaging platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram, similar to interacting with a human contact.
Many users have praised the system for its ability to automate tasks such as sending emails and making online purchases. However, others have reported unpredictable behavior and raised concerns about potential cybersecurity risks.
Currently, only a small portion of OpenAI’s nearly one billion users subscribe to its paid services, increasing pressure on the company to identify new revenue streams.
As part of its monetization efforts, OpenAI has begun testing advertisements and sponsored content within ChatGPT. These efforts have raised privacy concerns as the company seeks to offset its substantial spending commitments, which total hundreds of billions of dollars.
