Chinese scientists have unveiled an artificial intelligence (AI) "agent" that makes its own decisions without requiring specific instructions from a human operator.
The AI agent, Manus, was developed by Chinese startup Butterfly Effect. Its representatives claim it is the world's first general AI agent — meaning it demonstrates a level of autonomy that current AI models lack. The scientists who created Manus say it shows a potential glimpse of what artificial general intelligence (AGI) may one day be capable of.
This emerging type of AI responds to text prompts, similar to chatbots such as ChatGPT or DeepSeek. However, unlike chatbots, they work on different tasks, without the need for frequent, step-by-step instructions.
Manus isn't available to the general public yet, but a limited distribution of invite codes has given a select few access, sparking a flurry of interest online. Some users appear to have created playable video games from simple prompts, while others have used Manus to design and launch websites.
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