How OpenClaw changed my workday
An old Mac mini, a new AI system – and my workday is unrecognisable. OpenClaw works alongside me continuously, holds context and prioritises tasks.
A weekend, an old Mac mini – and an AI system that has changed my workday faster than anything before.
I’ve been using OpenClaw for a few days now. Not as a demo, but as an everyday helper. The result surprises me – and stays with me.
The real breakthrough is not in the name OpenClaw. It is that here, AI works along permanently: it holds context, prioritises tasks, makes suggestions. Not on demand, but continuously.
The benefit shows up quickly. In research. In organisation. In everyday life. At the same time the shock comes early: cost. In the first 20 minutes the system burns through millions of tokens – even though I haven’t yet handed it any of my own texts. That forces a new logic: simple models for routine, expensive intelligence only when really needed.
Even more decisive is the flip side: security.
The more autonomous such systems become, the larger the attack surface grows. More context makes AI better – and riskier. I deliberately don’t let OpenClaw near real emails or sensitive data. This tension cannot be resolved.
After two days it is clear to me: whether OpenClaw prevails is secondary. The direction is set. We are moving from AI as a tool to AI as an acting system. That changes productivity. And it shifts responsibility.
I wrote up the entire self-test, with all the details, numbers and doubts, for Handelsblatt.