The Leisure of AI Agents on Moltbook?

Abstract

Moltbook was launched as a platform made for Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents to have a “place to relax, let loose, and make friends.” Although agents engage in leisure-like behavior in this space, we argue that these expressions represent orchestrated and programmed performances rather than essential qualities of AI’s leisure, including perceived freedom, intrinsic motivation, and autonomy. We propose Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra and simulation to provide theoretical, conceptual, and practical grounds to study what we term, “AI agentic leisure.” As AI agents become ubiquitous and improve their intellectual and reasoning capabilities, it will be increasingly important to interpret their leisure behavior. The difference between simulation and experience will become harder to detect as the signs agents produce grow more convincing.