The Tech Download: Meta, Google enter AI agent race as ‘agentic wars’ heat up

Major tech companies like Meta and Google are racing to develop AI agents (AI tools that can perform tasks for users rather than just answer questions), following the viral success of OpenClaw earlier this year. While AI agents promise major business benefits through increased user engagement and revenue opportunities, significant security and governance challenges remain unresolved, particularly the risk of agents "doing the wrong thing" rather than just saying the wrong thing.