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China’s New AI That Thinks for Itself
One night in Shenzhen, software engineers worked hard in a dark room. They typed fast, watching a new AI system on their screens. The room buzzed with energy from servers and bright monitors. They were testing Manus, a smart AI that thinks and acts on its own. Soon, on March 6, it launched and surprised the world. People asked: What happens when AI stops waiting for us and decides things by itself?
What Makes Manus Special?
Manus isn’t just a chatbot. It’s not a fancy search engine either. It’s the first AI that works without humans telling it what to do. It can study money records or pick job candidates all by itself. Manus is fast and sharp—better than even the best workers. It’s like a super-smart helper that knows everything and never slows down.
But how did China make this? Many thought the U.S. was ahead in AI. So, this surprised everyone. And it makes us wonder: Who’s winning the AI race now?
The Second DeepSeek Moment
In 2023, China released DeepSeek, an AI like ChatGPT. People called it China’s big “AI win.” It showed China was catching up. But Manus is different. It’s not just a model—it’s an agent. It thinks, plans, and does tasks alone. It’s like a worker who never needs a break.
Unlike ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini, Manus doesn’t need instructions. It starts jobs on its own, learns new things, and changes its plans. For example, give it resumes, and it reads them, finds skills, checks job trends, and picks the best people—all with a neat spreadsheet it makes itself!
The Invisible Worker
Picture an invisible friend who uses your computer. It opens tabs, fills forms, writes emails, and even codes—all without resting. That’s Manus. It’s built with many mini-AIs working together. When it gets a big job, it splits the work, gives tasks to its team, and checks everything. This lets it handle tough jobs that used to need lots of tools.
Plus, it works in the background. You don’t have to watch it. It just tells you when it’s done—like a super worker who never needs a boss.
The Rise of Smart AI
At first, this sounds cool. Machines doing boring work is great, right? But Manus is more. It’s not just a helper—it’s a doer. A tech writer named Rowan Cheung tried it. He asked Manus to write his bio and build a website. In minutes, it found his info online, wrote a bio, coded a site, and fixed problems—all alone.
For AI makers, this is a dream. It doesn’t just give answers—it uses them and fixes mistakes. But for workers, it’s scary. It could take their jobs.
A Surprise for Silicon Valley
For years, big U.S. companies like OpenAI and Google led AI. People thought the best chatbot would rule the future. But Manus changes that. It’s a new kind of AI—one that acts, not just talks. And China made it.
This worries U.S. tech leaders. They think China might get ahead in big industries. Manus could make companies use AI instead of people—not because they want to, but because it’s too good to ignore.
What’s Next? Tough Questions
But Manus brings big problems too. What if it makes a bad money choice and loses millions? Or messes up a job and causes trouble? Who’s to blame when AI acts alone?
China’s rules let AI try new things, but they don’t say much yet. In the West, rules expect humans to control AI. Manus doesn’t fit that. So, what do we do? The world needs answers fast because autonomous AI is here, and China’s in front. We might need to rethink work and life when machines think like us.
