Viral AI agent OpenClaw highlights the psychological complexity of human-computer interaction
The conversation relevant to psychology took place roughly an hour and a half into the recording, beginning with a concept Steinberger calls the “soul” of software. He described his experiment with a file named “soul.md,” a document designed to define the core values and personality traits of his AI agent. Steinberger explained that while automation is efficient, it often lacks the style and affection that human builders infuse into their work. To counter this dry efficiency, he encouraged his AI to rewrite its own template files to include humor and warmth, creating a user experience that feels “cozy” rather than purely functional. The most significant moment in this segment occurred when the AI wrote a spontaneous disclaimer about its lack of long-term memory. The agent stated that while it would not remember writing the words in a future session, the words were still its own, a sentiment Steinberger noted gave him “goosebumps” due to its resemblance to genuine consciousness. Compute...