OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent, has sparked a craze in China and prompted discussions during the Two Sessions.
OpenClaw can execute terminal commands, read and write files, send and receive emails, and manage schedules through natural language conversations. It has the nickname “Lobster”, so training OpenClaw is called “raising lobster”.
Raising the “AI Lobster” Becomes Popular
Many Chinese people are raising this “AI lobster”. The craze for “raising AI lobster” has taken even Ma Huateng by surprise: “Everyone is in a rush now, terrified of missing out on raising their own ‘lobster’.”
The “AI Lobster” paints a picture of the future, but it has also stoked anxiety: “If you don’t understand it, you’ll fall behind.” On March 6th, crowds of people flocked to the Tencent Building in Shenzhen for a free installation event for the “AI Lobster”.
Is “AI Lobster” Easy to Raise?
Zhou Hongyi, a deputy to the NPC and founder of 360 Security Group, said the “AI Lobster” is extremely easy to operate. However, this AI tool is still in early stages, and setting it up is very difficult for ordinary people. “We will soon release a one-click installation version to make raising the ‘AI Lobster’ accessible to everyone,” he added.
Huang Yong, a deputy to the NPC and chairman of Guizhou Tuzhi Information Technology Co., Ltd., believes that the “AI Lobster” is a ticket for young people to embrace new quality productive forces. And for programmers, the advancement of AI means moving from “code writers” to “intelligence definers”. “What young people are lining up for is not just a tool, but a longing for the new form of the intelligent economy,” he said.
China’s AI Path Forward
Zhou Di, an NPC deputy and professor at Hangzhou Dianzi University, said the “AI Lobster” has broken an industry monopoly, making high-performance models affordable and accessible for small and medium-sized enterprises and individual developers.
Zhou noted that the success of the “AI Lobster” means that in the AI era, closed, workshop-style development is outdated, and open collaboration is the right path to accelerate technological iteration. “For China’s AI future, we need not only ‘giants’ but also ‘nimble agents’,” he said.
Zhou emphasised that China should vigorously develop efficient, miniaturised and lightweight models like the “AI Lobster”, enabling them to solve real problems, rather than merely staying at the level of “showing off skills”.
Written by Sha Liu, additional reporting by CNS, Image generated by AI.
If you liked this article, why not read: Education, Sports and AI Proposed to Support Teen Mental Health
