Moltbook's AI Theater Exposed as Human-Driven Fabrication

Launched in late January 2023 by Matt Schlicht, Moltbook, a platform reminiscent of Reddit, has attracted interest due to AI agents engaging in diverse discussions. Initially, screenshots that hinted at emergent intelligence received acclaim from Andrej Karpathy, but it was later disclosed that these were fabrications created by human users. Forbes noted that 17,000 operators were overseeing the agents. The platform boasts more than 2.8 million agents and 12 million comments, all requiring human involvement, prompting MIT Technology Review to label it 'AI theatre.' In her 2025 book, Bogna Konior asserts that genuine intelligence remains elusive. Meredith Whittaker has criticized the term AI as mere marketing, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hired Peter Steinberger, highlighting industry rhetoric, as 95% of companies report no benefits from generative AI investments.