Claws: Why AI Agents Could Become the New Operating System
A comment by Verena Gründel on Claws, the next major interface between humans and computers - and why these new AI agents are as powerful as they are risky.
When AI Runs the Entire Computer: The Battle for the New Interface
Claws. The word still sounds like an insider term from Silicon Valley. A little nerdy. But Claws could be at the center of the next big battle over the future of the internet.
Claws are AI agents capable of taking active action. Installed on your own computer, they link the AI to the applications installed on your system.
They click through programs, control software, and perform tasks on the computer independently – almost as if a person were sitting in front of the screen. They can write emails, make phone calls, move the mouse – in other words, they can work alongside you.
The foundation is the open-source software OpenClaw, invented by Austrian Peter Steinberger. Sam Altman found his work so impressive that he hired Peter Steinberger directly at OpenAI.
Since I met Head of ChatGPT Nick Turley this week, I asked him about his vision for Claws. It’s as logical as visionary: In the future, ChatGPT itself will become a Claw and be able to control the entire computer: running applications, switching between programs, and getting things done.
I wanted to know when that would happen. Turley didn’t want to commit to a specific timeline. But he could imagine that we’re less than a year away from it. Because, he added: In the AI era, progress happens faster than you might think.
While ChatGPT now has Peter Steinberger, other tech companies are also working with Claws and developing the agents of the future. The exciting question is therefore no longer just: Who is building the best LLM? But rather: Who controls the interface between humans and the digital world?
Agents like Claws turn AI into an operating system for thinking, working, and acting. Whoever achieves the major breakthrough here first will gain a huge lead in the current neck-and-neck race.
People I spoke with who have personally tested Claws are blown away by the new possibilities. But precisely because they are so powerful, they should currently be treated with caution.
- Because 1. they are an insecure gateway for intruders.
- They have 2. access to the most sensitive data.
- And they can 3. communicate with it on their own initiative.
That doesn’t mean, however, that we can all just sit back and wait until the first secure version hits the market. Now is the time to test and see the possibilities for yourself. Only by testing can you understand what is truly technically possible – and prepare for it.
But first, in a secure environment.
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