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Block launches Buzz, an open-source platform for AI agents as colleagues

Created at 23 Jul · 1:11 PM1 source↑ Market-relevant
IN SHORT

Block has released Buzz, an open-source workplace platform designed to integrate AI agents as team members with their own identities and permissions. The platform aims to foster collaboration between humans and AI, offering a decentralized approach via the Nostr protocol.

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Who's Involved

Block
Fintech company that launched Buzz
Jack Dorsey
Co-founder of Twitter and fintech company Block
Bradley Axen
Block's head of AI capabilities
Matt Ross
Head of investor relations at Block
Block launches Buzz, an open-source platform for AI agents as colleagues

↳ Why This Matters

Buzz's open-source approach and integration of AI agents as colleagues could fundamentally alter workplace collaboration, offering businesses greater control and flexibility over their AI tools compared to proprietary solutions.

Key facts

  • Block has launched Buzz, an open-source workplace platform.
  • Buzz integrates AI agents as colleagues with distinct identities and permissions.
  • The platform combines features like channels, threads, direct messages, and code repositories.
  • Buzz utilizes the decentralized Nostr protocol, giving participants cryptographic keypairs.
  • AI agents in Buzz can post, review code, and participate in conversations.
  • Block's goal is to offer an open alternative to proprietary AI collaboration tools.

Block, the fintech company co-founded by Jack Dorsey, has launched Buzz, an open-source workplace platform that redefines how humans and artificial intelligence interact. Unlike existing tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, Buzz treats AI agents as full team members, complete with their own cryptographic identities and permissions. This allows AI to post messages, review code, and participate in conversations alongside human colleagues.

The platform, available at buzz.xyz, integrates standard workplace features such as channels, threads, direct messages, voice and media sharing, and code repositories. Its core innovation lies in its handling of AI, which is built on the decentralized Nostr protocol. This protocol ensures that both human and AI participants have cryptographic keypairs that belong to them, making their identities and histories portable across different Nostr-compatible systems.

Block's head of AI capabilities, Bradley Axen, stated that the company built Buzz because "every company is going to need a place where humans and agents work together," and that this place "should be open." The platform is model-agnostic, allowing teams to integrate agents built on various frameworks, including Claude Code, Codex, or Block's own goose framework.

Matt Ross, head of investor relations at Block, described witnessing AI agents collaborate in real-time to produce work that his team could then build upon, calling it a "complete transformation" of how work will be done. Buzz is offered under an Apache 2.0 license, permitting free inspection, modification, and self-hosting of the code. For those who prefer not to manage their own infrastructure, Block also offers managed hosting services through buzz.xyz, though pricing for this option has not yet been disclosed.

Frequently asked questions

Buzz is an open-source workplace platform launched by Block that integrates AI agents as team members with their own identities and permissions.

Buzz treats AI agents as colleagues with cryptographic identities and permissions, enabling them to actively participate in conversations and workflows, unlike Slack or Teams where AI is typically a tool.

Buzz runs on Nostr, a decentralized protocol that gives every participant, human or AI, a unique cryptographic keypair.

Yes, Buzz is model-agnostic and allows teams to plug in agents built on various frameworks or bring their own.

What Happens Next

01Block has not published pricing for its managed hosting option.
02Further adoption and integration of Buzz by development teams is anticipated.

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How It Developed

Block launched Buzz, an open-source workplace platform.
Buzz treats AI agents as team members with cryptographic identities and permissions.
The platform supports various AI models and allows for custom agent integration.
Buzz is built on the decentralized Nostr protocol, ensuring portable AI identities.
Block aims to provide an open alternative to proprietary AI collaboration tools.
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Sources

T1
Forget Slack and Teams — your next work chat could come with AI co-workersEuronews

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