AI researchers in China claim to have made a major breakthrough after developing the “world’s first” fully autonomous artificial intelligence agent.
Named Manus, the general-purpose AI is capable of carrying out a vast range of tasks, including buying property, booking holidays and developing video games.
Built by Chinese firm Butterfly Effect, Manus is also reportedly capable of outperforming the most advanced AI models from ChatGPT creator OpenAI.
“[Manus] is the next evolution in AI,” Yichao Ji, co-founder and chief scientist of Manus AI, said in a video demonstrating the AI’s abilities.
“This isn’t just another chatbot or workflow, it’s a truly autonomous agent that bridges the gap between conception and execution. Where other AI stops at generating ideas, Manus delivers results.
“We see it as the next paradigm of human-machine collaboration, and potentially a glimpse into AGI (artificial general intelligence).”
The AI has drawn praise from tech industry figures, with AI policy researcher Dean Ball calling it the “most sophisticated computer using AI”.
Victor Mustar, head of product at AI platform Hugging Face, described Manus as “mind-blowing” in its capabilities.
“Got access and it’s true... Manus is the most impressive AI tool I’ve ever tried,” he wrote on X. “The user experience is what so many others promised... but this time it just works.”
The AI is not yet widely available, with hopeful users requiring an invite code from existing users to gain access.
A viral video demo of the technology has added to the hype surrounding Manus, leading to invitation codes reportedly selling for thousands of pounds on Chinese marketplace Xianyu.
While some have feared that its abilities could pose a significant threat to human workers, others who have tested it claim that it still has significant flaws that need to be addressed before a wider roll out.
Some early users complained about errors with Manus, such as making mistakes about factual information and not providing complete answers to questions.
