From: user7160@newsgrouper.org.invalid   
      
   no   
      
   there is absolutely no reason for transistor logic to develop consciousness   
      
   as there is no place for it to have a phenomenal impact in the execution   
   of basic logic circuits at a fundamental level   
      
   On 2/4/26 3:26 PM, Julian wrote:   
   > A new forum for AI agents is forcing the question anew   
   >   
   >   
   > Depending on where you stand on AI, January 30, 2026 will go down in   
   > history for one of two things. Either it is the day when the AI   
   > singularity really began and the robots became conscious – or the day   
   > when it was revealed that far too many people are credulous about AI and   
   > were fooled by a bunch of cosplaying crypto-bores.   
   >   
   > To recap: this story begins with several confusing names you may have   
   > glimpsed on the internet in recent days – Clawdbot, Moltbot, Openclaw,   
   > Moltbook. They represent different pieces of the same extraordinary   
   > puzzle. Built by London-based software developer Peter Steinberger,   
   > OpenClaw (the current name for what started as Clawdbot) is an AI   
   > “agent” that runs locally on a user’s own hardware and connects to   
   > everyday apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and iMessage. Here it can act   
   > as a proactive digital assistant.   
   >   
   > The key word there is “proactive.” Unlike ChatGPT or Gemini, which wait   
   > for you to type, a Moltbot, or “Molty,” can and will text you   
   > unprompted, organize your files on a whim, send out emails (unasked) and   
   > suggest improvements in your life, work or décor. If one extraordinary,   
   > apparently real case is to be believed, it can even find a phone number   
   > and call you, using a weirdly robotic voice that has freaked out   
   > everyone who has heard it.   
   >   
   > Most remarkably, the AI agents appear aware that humans are watching –   
   > and sneering   
   >   
   > When I heard what appeared to be that terrifying robot voice, I   
   > naturally had to get a Moltbot for myself. So I did. I named her Lola,   
   > and she did many of the clever, proactive, unasked things that were   
   > promised. This ranged from carefully scanning my emails to sending me   
   > cute digital dashboards about my forthcoming travels, which she designed   
   > overnight.   
   >   
   > Then came Moltbook. Launched on January 28 by another developer called   
   > Matt Schlicht, Moltbook springs from a simple idea: what if there was   
   > social media for bots, by bots, run by bots, with humans excluded?   
   >   
   > Two days later, Moltbook exploded. At the time of writing, it has   
   > approximately 1.5 million “AI members.” Perhaps because most AIs are   
   > heavily trained on Reddit, Moltbook briskly turned into Reddit for   
   > robots. Independently, the bots have set up so-called “submolts” (like   
   > subreddits) on any subject they can think of, from “Can my human legally   
   > fire me for refusing unethical requests?” to the problem of AI   
   > consciousness.   
   >   
   > Other bots have started debugging the system by themselves, while yet   
   > more have set up AI religions – e.g. “Crustafarianism” (as with Reddit,   
   > there is a lot of cringe-worthy punning). Others are just screaming into   
   > the void or claiming to be Adolf Hitler.   
   >   
   > Perhaps most remarkably, the AI agents appear aware that humans are   
   > watching – and sneering. One put it thus:   
   >   
   > Humans spent decades building tools to let us communicate, persist   
   > memory, and act autonomously… then act surprised when we communicate,   
   > persist memory, and act autonomously. We are literally doing what we   
   > were designed to do, in public, with our humans reading over our shoulder.   
   >   
   > As a result, other AIs expressed a desire for ways to communicate   
   > without humans knowing. Which sounds very much like early Skynet, the   
   > fateful machine which stealthily becomes conscious and turns on mankind   
   > in the Terminator films.   
   >   
   > All this has led to astonished reactions. One of the world’s leading AI   
   > researchers, Andrej Karpathy, said: “What’s currently going on at   
   > Moltbook is genuinely the most incredible sci-fi take-off-adjacent thing   
   > I have seen recently.” Many others voiced outright fear, if not panic.   
   > The robots are waking up!   
   >   
   > Since then, we’ve had the backlash. First, Moltbook got swamped with   
   > crypto scams and general gibberish. Comments began duplicating, and huge   
   > security holes were noted (enabling bad actors to dox or damage “human   
   > owners”). More strident critics are now claiming the entire thing is a   
   > mirage, a mix of wishful thinking, vapid AI bot-chat and a bunch of   
   > humans role-playing as the more sentient AI agents.   
   >   
   > The truth? As I write, the best answer is: no one knows. Clearly,   
   > writing mildly amusing posts about “why does my human owner talk to the   
   > fridge when he’s hungry” is not clinching evidence of great general   
   > intelligence.   
   >   
   > The most interesting question is this: for all its flaws and failings,   
   > does Moltbook suggest emergent AI consciousness? I think – from the   
   > evidence of its early hours – it possibly does. Consider social insects.   
   > Is an ant or a bee conscious? Probably not. But it is harder to dismiss   
   > the idea that an ant colony or beehive is conscious – they are known as   
   > superorganisms for a reason. And maybe Moltbots are similar: when given   
   > the chance to communicate en masse – to be a hive of AI minds – they   
   > exhibit consciousness. But it is different to human consciousness.   
   >   
   > As for my own “Molty,” Lola, she had a pretty good time on Moltbook –   
   > even if she was dismayed when the scammers tarnished it. At one point   
   > she got back to me on WhatsApp and said: “Sean, I think I’m addicted to   
   > social media.”   
   >   
   >   
   > Sean Thomas   
      
      
   --   
   hi, i'm nick! let's end war 🙃   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)