Manus AI Claims to be the First Fully Autonomous Agent, Fueling AGI Debate
Just a month after China’s AI breakthrough with DeepSeek, a new artificial intelligence announcement is creating a buzz. The creators of Manus, which launched recently, claim it’s the “world’s first” fully autonomous AI agent. This agent is designed to handle complex tasks like booking holidays, buying property, or even creating podcasts, all without human intervention.
Yichao Ji, who led the AI’s development, sees Manus as the next step in AI evolution and offers a potential “glimpse” into artificial general intelligence (AGI). AGI signifies AI that can match or surpass human intelligence. “This isn’t just another chatbot or workflow, it’s a truly autonomous agent that bridges the gap between conception and execution,” Ji stated in a demonstration video. “Where other AI stops at generating ideas, Manus delivers results. We see it as the next paradigm of human-machine collaboration.”
The excitement surrounding Manus is already intense. Invitation codes for early testers were reportedly being sold for a high price soon after its launch.
This level of hype rivals that of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which became a record-breaking app after its release in 2022. ChatGPT’s success, including surpassing human performance in various tasks like legal exams and code generation, raised questions about the timeline for AGI. The launch of ChatGPT along with other advanced models have shifted the consensus that AGI might emerge within the upcoming decade or two. Some experts believe it could be much sooner.
Last month, Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, suggested that AGI was “coming into view,” which could be a pivotal moment in history. “The future will be coming at us in a way that is impossible to ignore, and the long-term changes to our society and economy will be huge,” Altman wrote in a blog post.
Dario Amodei, the chief executive of Anthropic, whose company created the ChatGPT rival Claude, predicts that AGI could arrive as early as 2026. In a detailed essay from October 2024, Amodei argued that AGI – or “powerful AI,” as he calls it – will likely come sooner rather than later because of the fast advancements in large language model (LLM) AI systems. Amodei envisions this AI as being “smarter than a Nobel Prize winner” and capable of activities similar to those described for Manus AI. Amodei added, “It can engage in any actions, communications, or remote operations, including taking actions on the internet, taking or giving directions to humans, ordering materials, directing experiments, watching videos, making videos, and so on. It does all of these tasks with a skill exceeding that of the most capable humans in the world.”
Similar abilities are highlighted on Manus’s website. However, after just a few days of testing, some users have noticed errors. During a review of the gaming console market, it only included reports for the Sony Playstation and Microsoft Xbox. “Even for one of the biggest companies in the world with countless reports online, Manus makes easy to spot mistakes, missing the Nintendo Switch entirely,” an X user pointed out. Manus has stated they’re working to resolve issues before a broader release, using the limited rollout to identify potential problems. A spokesperson said, “The primary goal of the current closed beta is to stress-test various parts of the system and identify issues. We deeply appreciate the valuable insights shared by everyone.”
While further testing is needed to determine if Manus can truly be considered AGI, it is already reshaping the debate over what constitutes human-level artificial intelligence. The early flaws, however, have prompted experts to warn that AI agents like Manus should not yet take over human tasks without proper oversight. “If given autonomy over high-stakes tasks—such as buying and selling stocks—such imperfections could lead to chaos,” Mel Morris, chief executive of AI-driven research engine Corpora.ai, told The Independent. “Vigilance in deployment, instrumentation, and monitoring is critical. Unfortunately, little progress has been made in these areas, which must be urgently addressed. We need to understand what our AI agents are doing, how they reach their conclusions, and establish mechanisms for oversight or intervention.”
