The AI moment for the Chinese public has arrived.

The Chinese Internet hasn't been this bustling for a long time.

During this period, a somewhat absurd phenomenon suddenly emerged.

Many people started "raising shrimps."

Engineers are writing tutorials, product managers are researching gameplay, and ordinary users are discussing how to raise shrimps on social media. Some people in the tech community are sharing plugins, developers are creating automation tools, and some are even compiling complete "shrimp - raising guides." There are even "door - to - door shrimp installation" services on Xiaohongshu, clearly priced from dozens to hundreds of yuan, yet still in short supply.

The matter soon began to spread.

More and more developers got involved, more and more products started to try to access relevant capabilities, and the update rhythm of some Internet companies suddenly accelerated. On March 6th, a queue of nearly a thousand people formed at the entrance of Tencent's Shenzhen headquarters. Some were holding NAS devices, some were carrying mini - PCs, and even primary school students came with their parents to "experience." The reservation numbers were all snatched up by 11 a.m., and those who didn't get in were still asking, "Can I get an extra number?"

Even Ma Huateng sighed in his WeChat Moments: I didn't expect it to be this popular.

Some people call this phenomenon another "DeepSeek moment" in China. However, upon closer inspection, it can be found that this shrimp - raising craze is actually quite different from many technological explosions.

DeepSeek represents technological breakthroughs. While the shrimp - raising craze is more like a social spread.

When technology truly changes the world, one thing often happens. In the history of the Internet, every wave that truly changed the industry landscape didn't start from expensive press conferences or complex technical papers. Instead, it started from a simpler change:

Technology suddenly became "closer."

When technology changes from a tool for a few people to something that many people can touch, try, and participate in, a new era often begins.

Fu Sheng, the CEO of Cheetah Mobile, was among the first to deeply engage in "shrimp - raising."

During the Spring Festival holiday, he was bedridden for 14 days due to a skiing injury. He used OpenClaw to build 8 AI agents to handle his work. On Chinese New Year's Eve, his "shrimp" named "Sanwan" sent New Year greetings to 611 people, produced 6 official account articles, and planned, produced, and released a short video with over 300,000 views.

He calculated that if converted into human labor, this would be an impossible task.

1. Three Rounds of Sovereignty Descent

If we stretch the time axis further, we'll find that the "shrimp moment" is not an isolated event.

The development of the Internet in the past three decades has always revolved around the same theme: The descent of capabilities.

Every technological wave is, in essence, a process where a certain ability gradually transfers from the hands of a few to the hands of more people.

The first round occurred in the early content era of the Internet.

Before the Internet, information dissemination was almost entirely in the hands of media institutions. Newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations formed the center of the information world. It was very difficult for ordinary people to have their own voice channels.

The Internet first changed this situation. After the emergence of blogging platforms, everyone could have their own publishing channels.

This seems like a simple technological change, but its impact is far - reaching. The sovereignty of writing began to descend for the first time.

Ordinary people are no longer just information receivers but can also become information producers. Many people who later changed the Internet ecosystem started from blog writing.

The second round of sovereignty descent occurred in the mobile Internet era.

Before the emergence of short - videos, video creation was actually a high - threshold task. It required professional equipment, complex editing, and strong content production capabilities. Video production was basically in the hands of media institutions and professional creators.

However, when short - video platforms emerged, things changed. Shooting, editing, and publishing were compressed into a few simple actions. A mobile phone could complete the entire production process that used to be very complex. Thus, the act of creation began to spread rapidly. Everyone could become a creator.

The sovereignty of creation began to descend. This change quickly transformed the entire Internet content structure. The content world previously produced by a few institutions gradually evolved into a creative ecosystem composed of countless individuals.

Today, when people discuss "shrimp - raising," the third round of sovereignty descent may be taking place.

This time, what's changing is not writing or creation, but another ability:

Execution.

For a long time in the past, the execution of complex tasks often required professional software and complex operations. Designers needed design software, programmers needed development tools, and data analysts needed professional platforms. Many abilities were actually locked by tool thresholds.

However, when AI tools can understand natural language, call tools, and automatically complete tasks, this threshold is being redefined. People no longer need to master complex software operations but only need to express their intentions.

Thus, a new ability begins to spread to more people. The sovereignty of execution begins to descend.

Wen Jirong, the Executive Dean of the Gaoling School of Artificial Intelligence at Renmin University of China, believes that the popularity of OpenClaw indicates that in the future, AI agents will be the main consumers of tokens. Everyone may have many agents, and these agents will run 24/7, performing tasks such as ticket - grabbing, information collection, and project preparation while we sleep. Everyone will be a heavy user of AI, consuming tens of millions of tokens daily.

From this perspective, the shrimp - raising craze is actually just a very early sign. But it reminds many people of one thing: AI is not only changing technological capabilities but also the way capabilities are distributed.

2. This Is How History Often Begins to Change

In the history of the Internet, many important changes seemed insignificant when they first appeared.

When blogs first emerged, few people would have thought that they would change the media ecosystem. When short - videos first appeared, few people would have thought that they would reshape the entire content industry.

But when an ability begins to be mastered by more and more people, the world often changes slowly.

The shrimp moment may also be like this. It may not be a technological milestone, but it could be a historical signal.

Because when an ability begins to spread from the hands of a few to the public, technology is no longer just technology; it begins to become a social force.

To be precise, OpenClaw makes people truly see that the relationship between humans and machines is undergoing a fundamental change. In the past, humans operated computers, with humans as the active operators and computers as tools.

Now, through voice interaction, computers can autonomously complete operations, and humans have changed from operators to commanders.

This transformation is more important than any technical parameter.

3. A Unique Ability of the Chinese Internet

If we look further, we'll find a very interesting phenomenon.

Chinese Internet users have a very unique talent: They are particularly good at deconstructing advanced technologies into a form of gameplay that the public can participate in.

Many software that are just tools in other countries often quickly evolve into a culture in China.

Mini - programs were initially just a lightweight application framework. But in China, they quickly became viral social games. Various mini - games, group - buying, and fission mechanisms spread rapidly, forming a whole new Internet growth model.

Live - streaming was initially just a content carrier. But in China, it was reorganized into a whole set of commercial infrastructure. In just a few years, live - streaming e - commerce has evolved from an experiment into a trillion - scale industry.

In a sense, Chinese Internet users have always been doing the same thing: Turning technological tools into participatory cultures. Thus, technology is no longer just a tool; it becomes an action that can be shared, imitated, and spread.

The shrimp - raising craze is essentially such a phenomenon. It is not only a technological tool but also a gameplay that is constantly deconstructed and re - created.

4. Why the Diffusion Path of "Shrimp" Is Special

If we closely observe the spread path of the "shrimp" phenomenon, we'll find that it is completely different from Internet products in the past decade.

In the past decade, the technological evolution path of the Chinese Internet has been almost fixed. Tech giants release apps, users receive services, and the ecosystem forms around traffic pools.

This is a very stable structure: Companies create products, and users consume products.

But the diffusion path of the "shrimp" phenomenon is completely different.

It first appeared in the developer community. Then it was continuously modified by technology enthusiasts. Next, it entered the discussion on social media. Finally, Internet companies began to quickly follow up.

In other words, this is a completely reversed diffusion path: Community → Users → Companies.

In the history of the Internet, this kind of diffusion model often means one thing: The control of technology is changing.

Kimi launched KimiClaw, MiniMax launched MaxClaw, Zhipu promoted the seamless compatibility of GLM - 5, Xiaomi released the mobile version of Xiaomi miclaw, and Tencent even launched three OpenClaw - related products in a row: WorkBuddy, QClaw, and Tencent Cloud Lightweight Cloud.

Almost overnight, all major tech companies are accelerating their layout. This reaction speed itself says a lot.

5. Internet Giants Are Extraordinarily Sensitive

For Internet companies, this change is both exciting and worrying.

The reason for excitement is simple. When a technology suddenly becomes a topic of national discussion, a new market is often taking shape.

But the reason for worry is also obvious. Because this change is often not driven by companies but spontaneously generated by the community.

In the history of the Internet, whenever this happens, the industry structure often changes.

Many new companies are born in this chaos. And many once - powerful companies may gradually lose their advantages in this change.

In other words, when technology starts to be "played with" by the public, the control of the industry is often no longer entirely in the hands of companies.

6. Maybe Years Later, People Won't Remember the "Shrimp"

In the history of the Internet, most specific products will be forgotten.

But people often remember one thing: At a certain moment, many people suddenly started to access technology in a new way.

During the blog era, people first realized that everyone could write. During the short - video era, people first realized that everyone could become a creator.

In the AI era, there may also be a similar moment.

It's not a moment of technological breakthrough but a moment when many ordinary people suddenly realize that AI is no longer just a product of tech companies and a few people; it has become a basic social ability.

[Beyond the Page] Words:

If DeepSeek represents the technological moment of Chinese AI, then the "shrimp" craze is more like the mass moment of Chinese AI.

It may not be the most important technological breakthrough. But it could be a signal.

When technology moves from the laboratory to the community, from engineers to ordinary people, and from a tool to a culture, what happens next is often no longer just a technological issue.

It will change the industrial structure, change business competition, and even change the innovation mode of an era.

The history of the Internet has proven many times that the technology that truly changes the world is never the most complex one but the one that is easiest for many people to use together.

The closer technology is to people, the faster it changes the world.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Beyond the Page," author: Huahua. Republished by 36Kr with permission.