Manus - China’s AI Agent

A small team in Shenzhen built Manus, an AI agent. No waiting no oversight just pure execution. Within hours of its March 6 launch it was already making waves. Unlike regular AI assistants that need constant input Manus seems to be working completely on its own.

Most AI tools today need a user to guide them with every step. But Manus flips the script. Give it a task and it figures out everything from start to finish. Need a research report on market trends? It’ll search read summarize and even format the results into a spreadsheet. Want to find an apartment in San Francisco? It won’t just throw listings at you It’ll check crime rates rental trends and even weather patterns to fine-tune the search.

Basically it’s like an invisible worker that uses a computer just like you—except faster and without distractions.

China’s Big AI Leap (Another One)

Manus comes from Monica a Chinese startup that’s pushing AI to a level Silicon Valley has only theorized about This isn’t just another model like OpenAI’s GPT-4 or Google’s Gemini It’s an actual AI agent that operates without babysitting. It sees a task breaks it down figures out the best way to do it and then executes the plan—no human in the loop.

This is why some are calling it China’s second "DeepSeek moment" referring to the 2023 launch of DeepSeek an AI model that signaled China’s growing ability to compete with the US in AI research. Now with Manus China isn’t just catching up-it might be changing the game.

What Manus Can Do

Here’s a quick look at what this AI agent is capable of:

• Self-driven task execution. Manus can plan and complete tasks with zero user input
• Personalized content creation. It can make custom reports travel guides and even full educational courses
• Data analysis with visual reports. From stock trends to hiring decisions it can crunch numbers and present findings in easy-to-read formats
• Workflow automation. It can smoothly connect with other apps to handle complex processes
• Coding and web development. It writes code debugs and even deploys websites on its own

Is This the Start of Fully Autonomous AI?

Right now Manus is invite-only as Monica refines it before a wider release. But the potential is huge AI agents like this could upend how we work. They don’t just assist—they replace repetitive tasks entirely. The biggest question now is how soon these tools will go mainstream And when they do how many jobs will still need a human touch?

People on r/singularity are buzzing. The announcement that parts of it will be open-sourced "later this year" (not "soon") sparked a mix of hype, skepticism, and jokes about its name.

✅ Excitement for open-source AI. Many users see this as a major moment for AI accessibility, believing open-source agents could challenge expensive corporate solutions like OpenAI’s $20K/month services.
💭 Skepticism on execution. Some doubt how "general" Manus really is, arguing it's just a glorified search and automation tool rather than a truly independent AI agent.
💰 Questions about cost and access. Users debate whether open-source AI is practical when most people lack the infrastructure to run it. Others are already trying to sell invite codes.
😂 Naming jokes. The name "Manus" sparked a lot of humor, with comparisons to unfortunate English words. Some think it's a marketing mistake, while others believe it's intentional trolling.

Notable Comments:

• "Fcking open source, baby. Rock'n Roooooooll 🤟🤓" – @pakZ
• "The Chinese model will do 90% of the same thing for 1% of the cost." – @Equivalent-Bet-8771
• "Later this year" means forget about it, because there will be several AIs like it releasing first." – @Serialbedshitter2322
• "It’s here. We are so used to the SPEED. It’s like driving through your neighborhood after spending 5 hours on the highway. Feels slow as f**."* – @ready-eddy
• "Stick it to OpenAI!" – @Temporary-Spell3176

So Manus is shaking things up, but people want to see if it actually delivers before getting too excited. I tend to agree with such approach.

The video presents Manus AI as an overhyped product that used clever marketing to build massive interest while delivering a solid but not game-changing AI experience.

Last modified 15 March 2025 at 13:46