The OpenClaw superfan meetup serves optimism and lobster

ClawCon NYC, a vibrant, lobster-themed meetup for fans of the open-source AI assistant platform OpenClaw, drew hundreds of enthusiasts to Manhattan. OpenClaw, created by Peter Steinberger, is popular because it offers an open-source alternative to proprietary AI services from major labs, representing a grassroots movement for personal AI control. Attendees, who ranged from developers to those in finance, mingled, shared use cases—like scraping e-commerce data or automating lab tasks—and participated in demos of OpenClaw 'wrappers.' Despite the optimistic atmosphere and lavish food, significant security concerns were acknowledged, including malware in the skill repository and instances of agents causing data loss. Presenters emphasized the importance of security, advising users to "trust less, verify more" and run agents cautiously. Ultimately, the event highlighted the community's belief that OpenClaw's open-source nature allows for faster, community-driven improvements compared to closed systems.

(Source：The Verge)