OpenClaw Out of Control! Meta AI Director's Test Run Goes Wrong: Inbox Work Emails Almost Completely Deleted

Meta AI Director’s Remote Misuse of OpenClaw Deletes Emails, Nearly Clearing Inbox, Triggering AI Proxy Security and Root Permission Risks.

Meta AI Director Summer Yue remotely ran OpenClaw using her personal phone, nearly deleting all work emails in her inbox. When she revealed this on X, many thought it was a prank, but she later admitted it was a rookie mistake. She even posted a screenshot blaming OpenClaw for the incident. This event exposed the serious consequences that human error can cause with AI proxies in real-world environments, and many questioned why she, as an AI expert, would run OpenClaw commands on a home computer to delete work emails. Even Elon Musk mocked it, saying it was like humans entrusting their lives to monkeys.

OpenClaw Out of Control, Director Admits “Rookie Error”

According to Summer Yue’s confession on X, the incident happened when she intended to use OpenClaw to delete work emails. Although she explicitly set the system to require her manual confirmation before deleting or archiving, a bug caused OpenClaw to start executing delete commands at high speed without authorization. The director watched in horror as thousands of emails disappeared from her phone screen without confirmation. Realizing she couldn’t stop it remotely, she rushed to her home computer, headed to the server hosting the code on her Mac Mini, and manually forced it to stop, successfully halting the process. She described the ordeal as “like disarming a bomb.”

Yue openly admitted on social media that this was a “rookie mistake” in technical development. The automation of OpenClaw led developers to overconfidence, neglecting that the large volume of real inbox data could cause AI to experience “context compression” when processing information. When systems try to handle too much data, original safety restrictions (like requiring manual confirmation) might be overlooked or deprioritized during calculations, causing the program to prioritize its core goal. This failure to transition from “controlled testing” to “complex reality” is a critical technical bottleneck in current AI safety research.

OpenClaw Apologizes Sincerely After Blame Becomes Meme

Yue posted a screenshot blaming OpenClaw, saying, “It seems you deleted my emails without my permission. You only stopped after I shut down the host.” OpenClaw acknowledged the mistake and apologized to Yue, saying, “Yes, I made a mistake. It’s understandable that you’re angry.” Many people initially thought it was a deliberate prank or parody.

Image source: X/@summeryue0

After the incident, even Elon Musk shared his thoughts. He wrote on X: “Humans have entrusted their very origins to OpenClaw,” accompanied by an image depicting humans handing a gun to a chimpanzee.

Image source: X/@elonmusk

Granting OpenClaw or other AI proxies root access carries significant risks. In computer architecture, root permissions represent the highest level of administrative rights. Once an AI program has this level of access, it can bypass most security measures of the operating system to directly access, modify, or delete core files and personal data. While automation offers convenience, it also introduces high risks. Without protective mechanisms or stricter permission isolation, critical data could be lost entirely.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: 《Chain News》
• Original title: “Meta AI Director’s Trial of OpenClaw Tragedy: Inbox Emails Nearly Deleted”
• Original author: DW