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ZDNET's key takeaways
Both Moltbook and OpenClaw are irredeemably insecure.
Whatever Meta and OpenAI paid, it was too much.
Other, better programs have appeared that do the same jobs.
The AI business has become downright crazy. First, OpenAI hired Peter Steinberger, creator of the popular, horribly insecure open-source agent framework OpenClaw. Now, Meta has acquired Moltbook, the viral AI agent social network that also has no security to speak of. This is nuts.
Also: AI agents of chaos? New research shows how bots talking to bots can go sideways fast
Moltbook, a social platform for AI agents
These are the facts of the deals: Meta has confirmed its purchase of Moltbook, a Reddit-style social platform where AI agents -- rather than humans -- post updates, share information, and interact with each other. Well, that's what the Moltbook team tells people. The reality is that these "agents" were, in fact, humans role‑playing as agents, or heavily scripting what the agents had to say. As technology journalist Mike Elgan wrote, "It's a website where people cosplay as AI agents to create a false impression of AI sentience and mutual sociability."
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