How China fell for a lobster: What an AI assistant tells us about Beijing's ambition

OpenClaw, an open-source AI assistant built by an Austrian developer, sparked a major trend in China in March 2024 because it can be customized to work with Chinese AI models, unlike Western tools like ChatGPT that are inaccessible there. Users enthusiastically adapted OpenClaw's code to create personalized versions they called "lobsters," using them for tasks like e-commerce product listings, stock analysis, and productivity, with some claiming dramatic efficiency gains. The phenomenon reflects China's broader push to develop and embrace AI technology, driven by government support and the success of homegrown platforms like DeepSeek.