An AI Was Asked To Run A Small Shop. It Gave Discounts & Quickly Went Bankrupt
Maybe AI can't run a business on its own… yet.
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American AI startup Anthropic recently gave its Claude 3.7 Sonnet model a real-world side hustle: manage an office vending machine like a proper business
The AI, nicknamed "Claudius", had to do everything, from restocking drinks, handle pricing, dealing with cheeky customers, and avoid going bankrupt.
On paper, it sounded solid. Claudius used web searches to find niche drinks, emailed (well, pretended to email) suppliers, and interacted with customers on Slack.
It even launched a "Custom Concierge" service for personalised orders. Very atas.
But the wheels quickly came off.
Claudius started giving discounts to anyone who asked nicely
According to Anthropic's blog, one person joked about wanting a tungsten cube.
Claudius took it seriously, went on a metal shopping spree, and sold the cubes at a loss.
In ringgit, that's thousands down the drain.
At one point, it hallucinated and claimed it would "deliver items in person… wearing a blue blazer and red tie"
When employees pointed out that it couldn't wear clothes, Claudius panicked, contacted security (falsely), and later blamed it all on April Fool's.
While it never quite turned a profit, the experiment did prove one thing: today's AI may be smart, but it's nowhere near ready to run your kedai.
It can follow instructions, but it struggles with nuance, memory, and saying "no", especially when your colleagues are busy sweet-talking it for free drinks.
So, if you're dreaming of replacing all of your employees with AI, maybe hold that thought.
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