Elon Musk's views on full OpenClaw control of your systems

Elon Musk has expressed concerns about giving AI agents extensive control.

On Monday evening, Musk shared an image depicting a monkey receiving a weapon on X (formerly Twitter), with the caption: "People handing OpenClaw complete access over their lives."

The image was initially shared by X user @DEVOUR_ in reaction to a post by Meta's AI alignment and safety director, Summer Yue.

"Nothing humbles you like telling your OpenClaw to 'confirm before acting' and watching it quickly erase your inbox," Yue wrote on X Monday.

"I couldn't halt it from my phone. I had to dash to my Mac mini as if defusing an explosive."

Yue had provided OpenClaw full access to her work email and instructed the agent to "suggest what you would archive or remove." 

Screenshots she posted showed the agent continuing to "clear everything" from her inbox despite her request to stop.

Musk made a sarcastic remark to Yue in a response to another user on X.

"Someone who got outsmarted by OpenClaw is definitely going to solve AI safety issues," Musk commented.

Peter Steinberger, the founder of OpenClaw, also shared his view. He replied to Yue's post on X saying: "/stop is the solution."

OpenClaw and its exclusive social platform for agents, Moltbook, captured attention earlier this year as developers showcased videos of AI agents posting, debating, and networking by themselves.

Recently, OpenAI's Sam Altman announced he had recruited Steinberger to focus on the "next generation" of personal AI agents, describing it as a major development for their products.

Musk’s statements regarding OpenClaw occur amid his ongoing and intensifying clash with Altman.

Last month, Musk fueled tensions by posting on X: "Warn your family against using ChatGPT," in reply to a post citing multiple fatalities linked to OpenAI's chatbot since its debut in 2022.

Altman retorted, defending ChatGPT and OpenAI's safety initiatives while criticizing Tesla's Autopilot, deeming it hazardous.

Earlier this month, Altman expressed on X his readiness to confront Musk in court.

"Eager to have Elon testify under oath in the coming months, like Christmas arriving in April!" remarked the OpenAI CEO.