PCWorld reports that AI is evolving beyond simple chatbots to become autonomous agents that directly control PC functions and applications. Major tech companies are developing agentic AI systems, including Anthropic's Claude tools, OpenAI's upcoming superapp, and Google's Gemini Mac app with desktop intelligence features. This shift toward AI agents managing tasks like software development and data analysis represents a fundamental change in how users will interact with their computers. Remember when ChatGPT was just an AI chatbox that sat on your desktop? That was, like, so December.

As OpenClaw enthusiasm grips China, school kids and retirees alike raise'lobsters' Zhipu staff members help residents install and setup AutoClaw, a local version of the AI agent OpenClaw developed by Zhipu, at an office building in Beijing. BEIJING - Fan Xinquan, a retired electronics worker in Beijing, has recently started raising a lobster, hoping that the AI agent he has been training can help organize his specialized industry knowledge better than chatbots like DeepSeek. OpenClaw can actually help you accomplish many practical things, the 60-year-old said at a recent event hosted by AI startup Zhipu to teach people how to use and train the AI agent, which has gone viral in China, with its various local versions earning the lobster nickname. In the past month, OpenClaw, which can connect several hardware and software tools and learn from the data produced with much less human intervention than a chatbot, has captured the imaginations of many in China, from retirees looking for side income to AI firms hoping to generate new revenue streams. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

As Silicon Valley obsesses over a new wave of AI coding agents, Google and other AI labs are shifting their bets. Google is shaking up the team behind Project Mariner, its AI agent that can navigate the Chrome browser and complete tasks on a user's behalf, WIRED has learned. In recent months, some Google Labs staffers who worked on the research prototype have moved on to higher-priority projects, according to two people familiar with the matter. A Google spokesperson confirmed the changes, but said the computer use capabilities developed under Project Mariner will be incorporated into the company's agent strategy moving forward. Google has already folded some of these capabilities into other agent products, including the recently launched Gemini Agent, the spokesperson added.

PCWorld reports AMD's new "agent PC" concept featuring Ryzen AI Max+ processors designed to run AI agents continuously as dedicated secondary machines. These $2,000+ systems offer 128GB memory capacity and local AI processing through OpenClaw platform, providing privacy advantages over cloud solutions. High component costs and complex installation processes currently limit consumer adoption, with alternatives like Raspberry Pi potentially more practical. You already have a laptop or desktop PC, but now AMD thinks you need another one--an "agent PC" to support your main machine. AMD has responded to the growing success of OpenClaw's AI agents with a new suggestion: customers should buy "agent PCs," which would take the power of the Ryzen AI Max+ processor (surprise!) and repurpose it to run an agent swarm.

China's OpenClaw Boom Is a Gold Rush for AI Companies Hype around the open source agent is driving people to rent cloud servers and buy AI subscriptions just to try it, creating a windfall for tech companies. George Zhang thought OpenClaw could make him rich, even though he didn't really understand how the viral AI agent software worked. But he saw a video of a Chinese social media influencer demonstrating how it could be deployed to manage stock portfolios and make investment decisions autonomously. Zhang, who works in cross-border ecommerce in the Chinese city of Xiamen, was intrigued enough that he decided to try installing OpenClaw in late February. Zhang is one of the many people in China who got swept up in the craze over OpenClaw recently.

Hustlers are cashing in on China's OpenClaw AI craze The AI tool has become the country's latest tech obsession. Feng Qingyang had always hoped to launch his own company, but he never thought this would be how--or that the day would come this fast. Feng, a 27-year-old software engineer based in Beijing, started tinkering with OpenClaw, a popular new open-source AI tool that can take over a device and autonomously complete tasks for a user, in January. He was immediately hooked, and before long he was helping other curious tech workers with less technical proficiency install the AI agent. Feng soon realized this could be a lucrative opportunity. By the end of January, he had set up a page on Xianyu, a secondhand shopping site, advertising "OpenClaw installation support."

PCWorld examines OpenClaw, an AI agent developed by Peter Steinberger that recently gained OpenAI backing through an acquisition. This autonomous tool can read, edit, delete files and build programs with system-level access, demonstrating powerful agentic AI capabilities. Despite its potential for unprecedented automation, OpenClaw poses significant security risks including data deletion and prompt injection vulnerabilities, making immediate installation inadvisable for newcomers. A month ago, practically no one had heard about Peter Steinberger's personal AI side project. Now it's taken the AI world by storm, and it just got the backing of none other than OpenAI itself. First known as Clawdbot and later as Moltbot, the now re-rebranded OpenClaw served as an "I know Kung Fu" moment for its earliest users, who were jolted by the capabilities and potential of the AI-powered tool. Put another way, OpenClaw took what had previously been an abstract concept--"agentic AI"--and made it real. It's exciting and even vertiginous stuff, and if this story marks the first time you've heard of OpenClaw, you absolutely, positively shouldn't install it.

Security experts have urged people to be cautious with the viral agentic AI tool, known for being highly capable but also wildly unpredictable. Last month, Jason Grad issued a late-night warning to the 20 employees at his tech startup. "You've likely seen Clawdbot trending on X/LinkedIn. While cool, it is currently unvetted and high-risk for our environment, he wrote in a Slack message with a red siren emoji. "Please keep Clawdbot off all company hardware and away from work-linked accounts." Grad isn't the only tech executive who has raised concerns to staff about the experimental agentic AI tool, which was briefly known as MoltBot and is now named OpenClaw. A Meta executive says he recently told his team to keep OpenClaw off their regular work laptops or risk losing their jobs. The executive told reporters he believes the software is unpredictable and could lead to a privacy breach if used in otherwise secure environments. He spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak frankly.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 is Feb. 25 Valve's Steam Machine: Everything we know'Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI to drive the next generation of personal agents.' Recently we were introduced to OpenClaw, an AI that allows users to create their own agents to control apps like email, Spotify and home controls. Now, Sam Altman has announced that OpenAI has absorbed OpenClaw by hiring developer Peter Steinberger to drive the next generation of personal agents, he wrote on X . Steinberger confirmed the news on his own blog . I'm joining OpenAI to work on bringing agents to everyone.

AI agents are a risky business. Even when stuck inside the chatbox window, LLMs will make mistakes and behave badly. Once they have tools that they can use to interact with the outside world, such as web browsers and email addresses, the consequences of those mistakes become far more serious. That might explain why the first breakthrough LLM personal assistant came not from one of the major AI labs, which have to worry about reputation and liability, but from an independent software engineer, Peter Steinberger. In November of 2025, Steinberger uploaded his tool, now called OpenClaw, to GitHub, and in late January the project went viral.