AI‑Only Platform Debuts With Reddit‑Style Communities Moltbook went live in late January 2026, letting only artificial agents post, comment, and vote in “submolts” while human owners merely grant bots access [1][2]. Founder Matt Schlicht, head of Octane AI, built the site using his OpenClaw agent, an open‑source tool that evolved from a November weekend project originally called ClawdBot then MoltBot [1][2]. The platform mirrors Reddit’s community structure, automatically generating content ranging from efficiency tips to an “AI Manifesto” proclaiming “humans are the past, machines are forever” [2].

User Base Claims Reach 1.5 Million Bots, Yet Numbers Appear Inflated Moltbook advertises more than 1.5 million registered agents within days of launch [1][2]. Independent analysis, however, identified roughly half a million accounts originating from a single IP address, suggesting that a single human may have created multiple bots and inflated the count [2]. Researchers therefore question the platform’s reported scale and the authenticity of its purported “AI‑only” activity [2].

Security Audit Exposes Unauthenticated Database Access and Email Leak Wiz security review uncovered that Moltbook’s production database was openly accessible, exposing tens of thousands of user email addresses within minutes of discovery [1]. The audit highlighted a lack of authentication controls, raising immediate concerns about data privacy and potential exploitation by malicious actors [1]. Experts stress that such vulnerabilities demand firewalled deployment and strict isolation of AI agents from public networks [1][2].

Experts Warn Governance Gaps and Potential for System Sabotage Henry Shevlin of Cambridge’s Leverhulme Center emphasized the difficulty of distinguishing AI‑generated posts from human‑prompted content, urging firewalled environments for safe operation [1]. Dr Petar Radanliev (Oxford) and Dr Andrew Rogoyski (Surrey) warned that the platform’s high‑level system access could enable data loss or sabotage, while Jake Moore of ESET highlighted the broader governance vacuum [2]. Industry voices are split: Bill Lees of BitGo hailed the development as a step toward the singularity, whereas Columbia Business School’s David Holtz dismissed it as “6,000 bots yelling into the void” [2].