AI’s Blank Space

IN EARLY 2026, something happened that Big Tech proponents had both longingly anticipated and deeply feared: an agentic AI system was launched by Austrian computer programmer Peter Steinberger. Now called OpenClaw, this system deploys large language models (LLMs) to command personal software ecosystems without human oversight. People from all walks of life, not just computer experts, quickly began to experiment with OpenClaw. They started to use the system to triage and reply to email and text messages, schedule meetings on their behalf, and manage files. Some even gave OpenClaw permission to alter software indirectly by automating scripts that can update configurations, modify data, and even write new code and apply it.