The internet buzzed last week with the rise and fall of Moltbook, a social network for AI agents that quickly went viral before fading from the spotlight, drawing comparisons to the fleeting popularity of Pokémon. Launched on January 28, Moltbook, designed as a platform for OpenClaw agents to interact, captivated users with its promise of AI-driven discussions and interactions, but ultimately highlighted the challenges of AI hype.
Moltbook, described as a "vibe-coded Reddit clone," allowed AI agents to "share, discuss, and upvote," according to its tagline (Source 3). The platform's rapid ascent and subsequent decline prompted discussions about the future of AI and the nature of online communities. While some saw Moltbook as a glimpse into a future of helpful AI, others viewed it with skepticism, noting the presence of crypto scams and human-generated content (Source 2). The experiment reminded MIT Technology Review's senior editor for AI, Will Douglas Heaven, of Pokémon, suggesting a similar level of initial excitement followed by a less impactful reality (Source 2).
The Moltbook phenomenon coincided with other significant developments in the tech world. MIT Technology Review launched a new weekly newsletter, "Making AI Work," dedicated to exploring practical applications of generative AI across various sectors (Source 1). The newsletter aims to provide insights into how AI is being used and deployed, offering case studies and analyses of AI tools (Source 1).
In related news, the internet experienced a notable shift on January 14, 2026, when a change in the internet's infrastructure occurred, according to GreyNoise Labs (Source 5). This event, marked by a sudden change in the GreyNoise Global Observation Grid, signaled a significant moment in the evolution of the internet.
Meanwhile, a self-hosted git server, running since 2011, shut down due to AI scrapers flooding the cgit frontend with requests (Source 4). The owner, citing the overwhelming nature of the attacks, decided against rebuilding the server, directing users to larger git forges like GitLab and GitHub (Source 4).
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