{"id":17913,"date":"2026-02-17T18:20:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T18:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=17913"},"modified":"2026-02-17T18:20:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T18:20:48","slug":"what-openais-openclaw-hire-says-about-the-future-of-ai-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=17913","title":{"rendered":"What OpenAI\u2019s OpenClaw hire says about the future of AI agents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Hello and welcome to Eye on AI, with Sharon Goldman filling in for Jeremy Kahn. In this edition: What OpenAI\u2019s OpenClaw hire really means\u2026The Pentagon threatens Anthropic punishment\u2026Why an AI video of Tom Cruise battling Brad Pitt spooked Hollywood\u2026The anxiety driving AI\u2019s brutal work culture.<\/em><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It wouldn\u2019t be a weekend without a big AI news drop. This time, OpenAI dominated the cycle after CEO Sam Altman <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/x.com\/sama\/status\/2023150230905159801\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sama\/status\/2023150230905159801\">revealed<\/a> that the company had hired Peter Steinberger, the Austrian developer behind OpenClaw\u2014open-source software to build autonomous AI agents that had gone wildly viral over the past three months. In a <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/steipete.me\/posts\/2026\/openclaw\" href=\"https:\/\/steipete.me\/posts\/2026\/openclaw\">post<\/a> on his personal site, Steinberger said joining OpenAI would allow him to pursue his goal of bringing AI agents to the masses, without the added burden of running a company.<\/p>\n<p>OpenClaw was presented as a way to build the ultimate personal assistant, automating complex, multi-step tasks by connecting LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude to messaging platforms and everyday applications to manage email, schedule calendars, book flights, make restaurant reservations, and the like. But Steinberger demonstrated that it could go further: In one example, when he accidentally sent OpenClaw a voice message it wasn\u2019t designed to handle, the system didn\u2019t fail. Instead, it inferred the file format, identified the tools it needed, and responded normally, without being explicitly instructed to do any of that.<\/p>\n<p>That kind of autonomous behavior is precisely what made OpenClaw exciting to developers, getting them closer to their dream of a real J.A.R.V.I.S., the always-on helper from the Iron Man movies. But it quickly triggered alarms among security experts. Just last week, I <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/02\/12\/openclaw-ai-agents-security-risks-beware\/\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/02\/12\/openclaw-ai-agents-security-risks-beware\/\">described<\/a> OpenClaw as the \u201cbad boy\u201d of AI agents, because an assistant that is persistent, autonomous, and deeply connected across systems is also far harder to secure.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Some say OpenAI hire is the \u2018best outcome\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>That tension helps explain why some see OpenAI\u2019s intervention as a necessary step. \u201cI think it\u2019s probably the best outcome for everyone,\u201d said Gavriel Cohen, a software engineer who built NanoClaw, which he calls a \u201csecure alternative\u201d to OpenClaw. \u201cPeter has great product sense, but the project got way too big, way too fast, without enough attention to architecture and security. OpenClaw is fundamentally insecure and flawed. They can\u2019t just patch their way out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Others see the move as equally strategic for OpenAI. \u201cIt\u2019s a great move on their part,\u201d said William Falcon, CEO of developer-focused AI cloud company Lightning AI, who said that Anthropic\u2019s Claude products\u2013including Claude Code\u2013have dominated the developer segment. OpenAI, he explained, wants \u201cto win all developers, that\u2019s where the majority of spending in AI is.\u201d OpenClaw, which is in many ways an open source alternative to Claude Code, and became a favorite of developers overnight, gives OpenAI a \u201cget out of jail free card,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Altman, for his part, has framed the hire as a bet on what comes next. He said Steinberger brings \u201ca lot of amazing ideas\u201d about how AI agents could interact with one another, adding that \u201cthe future is going to be extremely multi-agent\u201d and that such capabilities will \u201cquickly become core to our product offerings.\u201d OpenAI has said it plans to keep OpenClaw running as an independent, open-source project through a foundation rather than folding it into its own products\u2014a pledge Steinberger has said was central to his decision to choose OpenAI over rivals like Anthropic and <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fortune.com\/company\/facebook\/\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/company\/facebook\/\">Meta<\/a> (In an interview with Lex Fridman, Steinberger said Mark Zuckerberg even reached out to him personally on WhatsApp). <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Next phase is winning developer trust for AI agents<\/h2>\n<p>Beyond the weekend buzz, OpenAI\u2019s OpenClaw hire offers a window into how the AI agent race is evolving. As models become more interchangeable, the competition is shifting toward the less visible infrastructure that determines whether agents can run reliably, securely, and at scale. By bringing in the creator of a viral\u2014but controversial\u2014autonomous agent while pledging to keep the project open source, OpenAI is signaling that the next phase of AI won\u2019t be defined solely by smarter models, but by winning the trust of developers tasked with turning experimental agents into dependable systems.<\/p>\n<p>That could lead to a wave of new products, said Yohei Nakajima, a partner at Untapped Capital whose 2023 open source experiment called BabyAGI helped demonstrate how LLMs could autonomously generate and execute tasks\u2014which helped kick off the modern AI agent movement. Both BabyAGI and OpenClaw, he said, inspired developers to see what more they could build with the latest technologies. \u201cShortly after BabyAGI, we saw the first wave of agentic companies launch: gpt-engineer (became Lovable), Crew AI, Manus, Genspark,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope we\u2019ll see similar new inspired products after this recent wave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With that, here\u2019s more AI news.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sharon Goldman<\/strong><br \/><a aria-label=\"Go to mailto:jeremy.kahn@fortune.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/02\/17\/what-openais-openclaw-hire-says-about-the-future-of-ai-agents\/mailto:jeremy.kahn@fortune.com\">sharon.goldman@fortune.com<\/a><br \/>@sharongoldman<\/p>\n<h3>FORTUNE ON AI<\/h3>\n<p><a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/02\/17\/ai-investments-surge-in-india-as-tech-leaders-convene-for-delhi-summit\/\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/02\/17\/ai-investments-surge-in-india-as-tech-leaders-convene-for-delhi-summit\/\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">AI investments surge in India as tech leaders convene for Delhi summit<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> \u2013 by Beatrice Nolan<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/02\/17\/ai-tech-red-flag-capex-hyperscalers-cash-flow-negative-evercore\/\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/02\/17\/ai-tech-red-flag-capex-hyperscalers-cash-flow-negative-evercore\/\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Big tech approaches \u2018red flag\u2019 moment: AI capex is so great hyperscalers could go cash-flow negative, Evercore warns<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> \u2013 by Jim Edwards<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/02\/14\/anthropic-ceo-dario-amodei-spending-capex-risk-ai-revenue-forecasts-bankruptcy\/\" href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2026\/02\/14\/anthropic-ceo-dario-amodei-spending-capex-risk-ai-revenue-forecasts-bankruptcy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei explains his spending caution, warning if AI growth forecasts are off by just a year, \u2018then you go bankrupt\u2019<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> \u2013 by Jason Ma<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>AI IN THE NEWS<\/h3>\n<p><b>Pentagon threatens Anthropic punishment. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The Pentagon is threatening to designate Anthropic a \u201csupply chain risk,\u201d a rare and punitive move that would effectively force any company doing business with the U.S. military to cut ties with the AI startup, according to <\/span><a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/02\/16\/anthropic-defense-department-relationship-hegseth\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/02\/16\/anthropic-defense-department-relationship-hegseth\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Axios<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\">. Defense officials say they are frustrated with Anthropic\u2019s refusal to fully relax safeguards on how its Claude model can be used\u2014particularly limits meant to prevent mass surveillance of Americans or the development of fully autonomous weapons\u2014arguing the military must be able to use AI for \u201call lawful purposes.\u201d The standoff is especially fraught because Claude is currently the only AI model approved for use in the Pentagon\u2019s classified systems and is deeply embedded in military workflows, meaning an abrupt break would be costly and disruptive. The dispute underscores a growing tension between AI labs that want to impose ethical boundaries and a U.S. military establishment increasingly willing to play hardball as it seeks broader control over powerful AI tools.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Why an AI video of Tom Cruise battling Brad Pitt spooked Hollywood.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> I\u2019ve been following this eye-opening story, which the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight:400\">New York Times<\/span><\/i> <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/16\/movies\/tom-cruise-brad-pitt-artificial-intelligence-seedance.html\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/16\/movies\/tom-cruise-brad-pitt-artificial-intelligence-seedance.html\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">explained<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> very well: Essentially, a hyper-realistic AI video showing Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting on a rooftop has sent shockwaves through Hollywood, underscoring how quickly generative video technology is advancing\u2014and how unprepared existing guardrails may be. The clip was created with Seedance 2.0, a new AI video model from Chinese company ByteDance, whose dramatic leap in realism has prompted fierce backlash from studios, unions, and industry groups over copyright, likeness rights, and job losses. Hollywood organizations accused ByteDance of training on copyrighted material at massive scale, while Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter and unions warned that such tools threaten performers\u2019 control over their images and voices. ByteDance says it is strengthening safeguards, but the episode highlights a growing fault line: as AI video moves from novelty to near-cinematic quality, the fight over who controls creative labor, intellectual property, and digital identity is entering a far more urgent phase.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The anxiety driving AI\u2019s brutal work culture.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight:400\"> If you\u2019ve ever worried about your own work-life balance, I think you\u2019ll feel better after reading this piece. According to <a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/ng-interactive\/2026\/feb\/17\/ai-startups-work-culture-san-francisco\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/ng-interactive\/2026\/feb\/17\/ai-startups-work-culture-san-francisco\">the Guardian<\/a>, in San Francisco\u2019s booming AI economy, the tech sector\u2019s long-standing perks and flexible culture are being replaced by relentless \u201cgrind\u201d expectations as startups push employees into long hours, little time off, and extreme productivity pressures in the name of keeping up with rapid advances and intense competition. Workers describe 12-hour days, six-day weeks, and environments where skipping weekends or social life feels like the price of staying relevant, even as anxiety about job security and AI\u2019s impact on future roles grows. The shift reflects a broader transformation in how AI labor is valued\u2014one that is reshaping workplace norms and could foreshadow similar pressures in other sectors as automation and innovation accelerate. I\u2019ll definitely have to check out how this looks on the ground the next time I head to the Bay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>EYE ON AI RESEARCH<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">DEF CON, <span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">the world\u2019s largest and longest running hacker conference, released its latest <\/span><a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/harris.uchicago.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/the_def_con_33_hackers_almanack.pdf\" href=\"https:\/\/harris.uchicago.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/the_def_con_33_hackers_almanack.pdf\">Hackers\u2019 Almanack<\/a>, an annual report distilling the research presented at the most recent edition in August 2025. The report focused on how researchers showed that AI systems are no longer just helping humans hack faster\u2014they can sometimes outperform them. In several cybersecurity competitions, teams using AI agents beat human-only teams, and in one case an AI was allowed to run on its own, successfully breaking into a target system without further human input. Researchers also demonstrated AI tools that can find software flaws at scale, imitate human voices, and manipulate machine-learning systems, highlighting how quickly offensive uses of AI are advancing.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The problem, the researchers argue, is that most policymakers have little visibility into these capabilities, raising the risk of poorly informed AI rules. Their proposal: allow AI systems to openly compete in public hacking contests, record the results in a shared, open database, and use that real-world evidence to help governments develop smarter, more realistic AI security policies.<\/p>\n<h3>AI CALENDAR<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Feb 16-20: <\/strong>India AI Impact Summit 2026, Delhi.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Feb. 24-26: <\/strong>International Association for Safe &amp; Ethical AI (IASEAI), UNESCO, Paris, France.<\/p>\n<p><strong>March 2-5:\u00a0<\/strong>Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, Spain.<\/p>\n<p><strong>March 12-18:\u00a0<\/strong>South by Southwest, Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>March 16-19:\u00a0<\/strong>Nvidia GTC, San Jose, Calif.<\/p>\n<p><strong>April 6-9: <\/strong>HumanX, San Francisco<\/p>\n<h3>BRAIN FOOD<\/h3>\n<p><strong>The trust dilemma when AI enters the exam room.<\/strong>\u00a0I was fascinated by this new article in <em data-start=\"311\" data-end=\"332\" data-is-only-node=\"\"><a aria-label=\"Go to https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/ai-is-entering-health-care-and-nurses-are-being-asked-to-trust-it\/https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/ai-is-entering-health-care-and-nurses-are-being-asked-to-trust-it\/\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/ai-is-entering-health-care-and-nurses-are-being-asked-to-trust-it\/https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/ai-is-entering-health-care-and-nurses-are-being-asked-to-trust-it\/\">Scientific American<\/a>, <\/em>which points out that as AI seeps deeper into clinical care, nurses are finding themselves on the front lines of a new trust dilemma: should they follow algorithm-generated orders when real-world judgement says otherwise? For example, a sepsis alert pushed an ER team to push fluids on a patient with compromised kidneys \u2014 until a nurse refused and a doctor overrode the AI. Across U.S. hospitals, the article found that predictive models are now embedded in everything from risk scoring and documentation to logistics and even autonomous prescription renewals, but front line staff increasingly complain that these tools misfire, lack transparency and sometimes <em data-start=\"738\" data-end=\"749\">undermine<\/em> clinical judgment. That friction has sparked demonstrations and strikes, with advocates insisting that nurses must be at the table for AI decisions \u2014 because it\u2019s ultimately humans who bear the outcomes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello and welcome to Eye on AI, with Sharon Goldman filling in for Jeremy Kahn. In this edition: What OpenAI\u2019s OpenClaw hire really means\u2026The Pentagon threatens Anthropic punishment\u2026Why an AI video of Tom Cruise battling Brad Pitt spooked Hollywood\u2026The anxiety driving AI\u2019s brutal work culture. It wouldn\u2019t be a weekend without a big AI news [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":775,"featured_media":17914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What OpenAI\u2019s OpenClaw hire says about the future of AI agents | Unlock Informed Choices with Us<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The OpenClaw deal shows the AI race shifting from smarter models to the systems\u2014and developers\u2014behind them.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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It wouldn\u2019t be a weekend without a big AI news&hellip;","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/775"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}