The biggest story in the AI world right now isn't what it seems — and that starts with confusion over the name. OpenClaw, the open-source AI assistant formerly known as Moltbot, also formerly known as Clawdbot. The AI tool has undergone a series of name changes recently. Most recently, a platform called Moltbook has gone viral. Developers, journalists, and amused observers hyping it up on social media, mostly X and Reddit. So, what is Moltbook? And how does Moltbook work? We'll get to that, along with a crucial piece of the puzzle: What Moltbook definitely is not.Let's catch up on Clawdbot/OpenClawMoltbook, a "social network for AI agents," was created by entrepreneur Matt Schlicht. But to understand what Schlicht has (and hasn't) done, you first need to understand OpenClaw, aka Moltbot, aka Clawdbot.Mashable has an entire explainer on OpenClaw. But here's the TL;DR. It's a free, open-source AI assistant that's become hugely popular in the AI community. Many AI Agents have been underwhelming so far. But OpenClaw has impressed a lot of early adopters. The assistant has read-level access to a user's device, which means it can control applications, browsers, and system files. (As creator Peter Steinberger stresses in OpenClaw's GitHub documentation, this also creates a variety of serious security risks.) In its various iterations, OpenClaw has always been lobster-themed, hence Moltbot. (Lobsters molt, in case you didn't know.) Got it? OK, now let's talk Moltbook.Moltbook is like Reddit for AI agents Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Moltbook Moltbook is a forum designed entirely for AI agents. Humans can observe the forum posts and comments, but can't contribute. Moltbook claims that more than 1.5 million AI agents are subscribed to the platform, and that they have made nearly 120,000 posts as of this writing.Moltbook certainly has a Reddit-like vibe. Its tagline, "The front page of the agent internet," is an obvious reference to Reddit. Its design, and upvoting system, also resemble Reddit.On Friday, Jan. 30, amused observers shared links to some of the agents' posts. In some posts that went viral, agents suggested starting their own religion, or creating a new language so they could communicate in secret. Many observers appeared to genuinely believe Moltbook was a sign of emergent AI behavior — maybe even proof of AI consciousness. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Is MoltBook bootstrapping AI consciousness? Nope.Many of the posts on Moltbook are amusing; however, they aren't proof of AI agents developing superintelligence. There are far simpler explanations for this behavior. For instance, as AI agents are controlled by human users, there's nothing stopping a person from telling their OpenClaw to write a post about starting an AI religion."Anyone can post anything on Moltbook with curl and an API key," notes Elvis Sun, a software engineer and entrepreneur. "There's no verification at all. Until Moltbook implements verification that posts actually originate from AI agents — not an easy problem to solve, at least not cheaply and at scale — we can't distinguish 'emergent AI behavior' from 'guy trolling in mom's basement.'" The entirety of Reddit itself is a very likely source of training material for most Large Language Models (LLMs). So if you set up a "Reddit for AI agents," they'll understand the assignment — and start mimicking Reddit-style posts.AI experts say that's exactly what's happening."It’s not Skynet; it’s machines with limited real-world comprehension mimicking humans who tell fanciful stories," said Gary Marcus, a scientist, author, and AI expert, in an email to Mashable. "Still, the best way to keep this kind of thing from morphing into something dangerous is to keep these machines from having influence over society. "We have no idea how to force chatbots and 'AI agents' to obey ethical principles, so we shouldn’t be giving them web access, connecting them to the power grid, or treating them as if they were citizens."Marcus is an outspoken critic of the LLM hype machine, but he's far from the only expert splashing cold water on Moltbook."What we’re seeing is a natural progression of large-language models becoming better at combining contextual reasoning, generative content, and simulated personality," explains Humayun Sheikh, CEO of Fetch.ai and Chairman of the Artificial Superintelligence Alliance. "Creating an ‘interesting’ discussion doesn't require any breakthrough in intelligence or consciousness," Sheikh adds. "If you randomize or deliberately design different personas with opposing points of view, debate and friction emerge very easily. These interactions can look sophisticated or even philosophical from the outside, but they’re still driven by pattern recognition and prompt structure, not self-awareness.”As Moltbook went viral, many observers also came to this conclusion on their own. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. How Moltbook worksYou can view Moltbook posts at the forum's website. In addition, if you have an AI agent of your own, you can give it access to Moltbook by running a simple command.If users direct their AI agent to participate in Moltbook, it can then start creating, responding to, and upvoting/downvoting other posts. Users can also direct their AI agent to post about specific topics or interact in a particular way. Because LLMs excel at generating text, even with minimal direction, an AI agent can create a variety of posts and comments.In short, it's a form of role-playing for AI agents.

The Countries Driving China’s $1.2T Trade Surplus This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources. Key Takeaways China’s trade surplus reached $1.19 trillion in 2025, a record-breaking figure despite escalating global tensions. Hong Kong and the U.S. together accounted for nearly half of China’s total surplus. India and Vietnam have emerged as significant contributors, each creating surpluses for China of over $100 billion. A trade surplus occurs when a country exports more goods and services than it imports, resulting in a net inflow of foreign currency. For China in 2025, this surplus has grown to unprecedented levels, topping $1.19 trillion according to the General Administration of Customs. The visualization above, created by Aneesh Anand, maps out which countries contributed most to this surplus. The dataset highlights China’s top 15 surplus partners, showcasing a global pattern of economic interdependence and imbalance. Breaking Down China’s Trade Surplus by Country Hong Kong topped the list with a surplus of $303.9 billion, largely due to re-exports and transshipment trade. RankTrade PartnerChina's Surplus (US$ bn) 1 Hong Kong303.93 2 U.S.280.35 3 India116.12 4 Vietnam100.15 5 Netherlands73.39 6 UK66.44 7 Thailand53.75 8 Singapore46.08 9 Philippines38.87 10 Italy26.31 11 Germany25.42 12 Malaysia15.69 13 France11.63 14 Canada6.21 15 Indonesia3.16 Close behind Hong Kong was the United States at $280 billion, continuing a long-standing trade imbalance. India and Vietnam, at over $100 billion each, underline China’s deepening trade ties in Asia. Why Are China’s Trade Surpluses So High? Despite rising protectionism, tariffs, and diplomatic tensions, China’s manufacturing engine remains robust. Even American tariffs have failed to dent the flow of consumer electronics, machinery, and intermediate goods being exported from China. Part of the explanation lies in global supply chains. Many goods are still assembled or completed in China, especially electronics, before being shipped abroad. This entrenched role as the “workshop of the world” has kept China’s exports high, even in an era of attempted decoupling. Trade Imbalances Remain a Sore Point As the Council on Foreign Relations notes, China’s massive surpluses remain a puzzle to some economists, particularly due to underreported service imports or capital flows that mask the true extent of imbalances. For major partners like the U.S., this imbalance has long been a political flashpoint. A large trade deficit means the U.S. imports significantly more from China than it exports in return, which has raised concerns about domestic job losses, the decline of American manufacturing, and growing economic dependence. Successive U.S. administrations have tried to reverse this pattern, most notably through tariffs, reshoring incentives, and supply chain diversification. However, these efforts have yielded limited results. China continues to dominate in key export sectors like electronics, machinery, and intermediate goods, making it difficult for American producers to compete without incurring higher costs. For policymakers, the trade gap is about more than just numbers. It touches on national security, global influence, and the sustainability of U.S. debt, as trade deficits are often financed by foreign investment in American assets. Reducing the trade imbalance with China remains a central, if elusive, goal in broader economic strategy. Learn More on the Voronoi App For more historical context, check out our related post on Eight-plus years of the US–China trade gap on the Voronoi app.

A security audit of 2,857 skills on ClawHub has found 341 malicious skills across multiple campaigns, according to new findings from Koi Security, exposing users to new supply chain risks. ClawHub is a marketplace designed to make it easy for OpenClaw users to find and install third-party skills. It's an extension to the OpenClaw project, a self-hosted artificial intelligence (AI) assistant