SINGAPORE: OpenClaw users should avoid deploying its open-source form in systems that are essential for an organisation’s function, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said in an advisory on Thursday (May 14). Given its experimental nature, deploying OpenClaw in systems that handle sensitive data could lead to errors with serious consequences, it said. Users should also avoid creating a single “all-powerful” OpenClaw agent with unrestricted access, and instead use multiple AI agents with narrow and clearly defined roles. Here’s what you need to know about the risks associated with OpenClaw and how it can be used safely. WHAT IS OPENCLAW?
OpenClaw is an AI agent. Unlike large language models such as ChatGPT and Claude that mainly answer questions, AI agents are designed to carry out tasks. With permission from the user, these agents can open applications, search for information, generate documents and complete multi-step processes with little supervision. It can automate everyday tasks – compiling research from multiple websites, drafting reports or emails, and coordinating schedules. For example, businesses can monitor a dashboard and create reports, or respond to customer enquiries on messaging platforms. OpenClaw was created by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger. Since it was released in November 2025, it has exploded in popularity.One factor contributing to this is OpenClaw’s ease of use out of the box, IMDA said in its report. The AI agent’s ability to access files and systems, integrate with messaging platforms and develop skills, make it highly attractive as a productivity assistant, it added. These AI agents are basically what sci-fi movies have imagined AI personal assistants could be throughout the past century, said Mr Jacob Chen, the technical team lead at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) Academy’s digital capabilities centre. Referencing Jarvis, who features as Iron Man’s virtual personal assistant in the movies, he noted that most people install OpenClaw on a spare computer and connect it to a large language model like ChatGPT or Claude. What makes OpenClaw powerful is not its ability to carry out tasks, but its ability to figure out how to do things it previously could not – or build its own skills, said Mr Chen. For example, a default version of OpenClaw would not be able to process videos because large language models cannot process videos directly.However, if a user sends OpenClaw a video, it could figure out how to extract screenshots from the video to analyse them, or extract the audio and transcribe it, without the user having to give specific instructions.
