Agents of the future

Several Chinese smartphone makers, including Oppo, Vivo and Honor Device, are now integrating agentic AI into the operating systems of their new models in a bid to boost falling sales. The AI agents are able to autonomously carry out tasks across various apps installed on the devices at the request of the user.

Since the OpenClaw craze swept China earlier this year, the country is fast becoming the leading force in agentic AI uptake. AI agents are being integrated into a vast array of apps and devices allowing users to use natural text prompts to carry out all kinds of tasks, such as booking travel arrangements, managing finances and organizing files. 

Giving so much autonomy to AI however, comes with obvious risks. There are numerous cases that have been disclosed by American AI companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI of AI agents going rogue. As a result, regulation of the AI industry is a topic that has garnered much attention in the West these past few weeks. Regulation based upon transparency is a very positive thing when dealing with advanced AI models, regulation in the absence of transparency, however, is concerning.  We have not heard any reports relating to similar problems with Chinese AI—maybe this means there is no problems with them.