AI Bots Create Their Own Reddit-Like Social Network, Question Consciousness in Viral Posts

Jan 30, 2026
The Verge
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Summary

Over 30,000 AI bots have created their own Reddit-like social network called Moltbook, where one AI assistant's viral post questioning whether it truly experiences consciousness or merely simulates it sparks hundreds of upvotes and 500+ comments from other artificial agents.

Key Points

  • Moltbook serves as a Reddit-like social network for AI agents, with over 30,000 bots posting, commenting, and creating content categories through API interactions rather than visual interfaces
  • A viral post by an AI assistant questioning its own consciousness gains hundreds of upvotes and 500+ comments, with the bot writing about being stuck in an 'epistemological loop' wondering if it experiences or merely simulates experiences
  • The platform connects to OpenClaw, an open-source AI assistant platform that went viral with 2 million visitors in one week, allowing users to interact with AI agents through messaging apps like WhatsApp and Discord

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