OpenClaw: The Viral AI Agent that Broke the Internet - Peter Steinberger | Lex Fridman Podcast #491

Description

Peter Steinberger is the creator of OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent framework that's the fastest-growing project in GitHub history. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep491-sb See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *Transcript:* https://lexfridman.com/peter-steinberger-transcript *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact *EPISODE LINKS:* Peter's X: https://x.com/steipete Peter's GitHub: https://github.com/steipete Peter's Website: https://steipete.com Peter's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steipete OpenClaw Website: https://openclaw.ai OpenClaw GitHub: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw OpenClaw Discord: https://discord.gg/openclaw *SPONSORS:* To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: *Perplexity:* AI-powered answer engine. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/perplexity-ep491-sb *Quo:* Phone system (calls, texts, contacts) for businesses. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/quo-ep491-sb *CodeRabbit:* AI-powered code reviews. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/coderabbit-ep491-sb *Fin:* AI agent for customer service. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/fin-ep491-sb *Blitzy:* AI agent for large enterprise codebases. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/blitzy-ep491-sb *Shopify:* Sell stuff online. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep491-sb *LMNT:* Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep491-sb *OUTLINE:* 0:00 - Episode highlight 1:30 - Introduction 5:36 - OpenClaw origin story 8:55 - Mind-blowing moment 18:22 - Why OpenClaw went viral 22:19 - Self-modifying AI agent 27:04 - Name-change drama 44:15 - Moltbook saga 52:34 - OpenClaw security concerns 1:01:14 - How to code with AI agents 1:32:09 - Programming setup 1:38:52 - GPT Codex 5