OpenClaw (Was ClawdBot, then MoltBot) is taking the internet by storm. And for a good reason, but a lot of it is hype in my opinion, and here is why.
I think it’s amazing. I installed OpenClaw on a Mac and played around with it for a few days. AI that can operate an entire system, like an assistant, a real one with arms, I can chat with in Slack or talk to using Telegram and an app on my Apple Watch. I mean, it’s the future right now. And why stop with one agent? How about a whole team? I mean, it’s markdown files, personalities, skills, you’ve got a whole team on your payroll now!
Only – it’s not there yet. Every AI influencer on the web, especially on YouTube, is yelling the same things. Selling their courses and templates, getting clicks and views – saying the same thing. But it’s hype. What OpenClaw can do, it does not do well yet. Yet, that’s the key. I think OpenClaw is the first iteration, and in a few weeks, it will be improved on, and in a few months, something radical and even more useful will be the topic we are all discussing. I think OpenClaw is a great start.
All the things that people are showing you can do in OpenClaw can be done better on its own. Using n8n or Make to automate tasks gives you greater control and power, and allows you to better control the use of tokens. Cost control, IMO, is better outside of OpenClaw. Today, OpenClaw is a stack of tools we already have, but with the added features of always-on operation, Cron control, and the feeling of having an assistant with arms to browse and do human-like tasks across the full system.
A great start. I think we are heading in the right direction.
Personally
The other aspect of this that just does not sit well with me yet is security. The Mac I was using had a benign Apple ID tied to just an email and a burner phone number. I ran it under a standard user, and I locked it down with all the usual practices for *nix security. But I still don’t trust it. I don’t want an always-on AI like that, running on hardware sitting on my desk. not yet.
I haven’t poked around with this yet, but it is more my speed, security-wise. If you are looking to get your feet wet, and I think you should, then try this first before installing it on bare metal. I think exploring and learning to use things like this only increases your experience and knowledge. Always be curious!
I am excited to see what happens over the next few weeks with this concept.
