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What if you worked for an AI boss?<\/p>\n
According to a recent report<\/a> from The New York Times<\/em>, for the past four months, staff at Andon Market<\/a> in San Francisco have been getting a firsthand look at what it\u2019s like to answer to an AI supervisor. Billed as the world\u2019s first retail boutique run by AI, the shop is managed by an AI agent named Luna, who directs three human employees.<\/p>\n Andon Labs<\/a>, the startup behind the project, found that an AI boss can be strikingly gentle and forgiving. For example, it overlooks repeated lateness from human employees. However, it is also indifferent to the core mandate of the job: actually turning a profit.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShe is probably the most lenient boss I have ever had,\u201d Kaia Rivera, 22, told the Times<\/em> about Luna. Rivera unlocks the shop each morning, stocks the shelves, and keeps an eye out for potential shoplifters.<\/p>\n Luna communicates with employees like Rivera through Slack. Andon Labs researchers evaluate the messages.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past few months, it has become clear that Luna, while friendly and personable, has her faults.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI have to boss the boss more than in a normal situation. She forgets things,\u201d Rivera told the Times<\/em>. \u201cYou can\u2019t have an AI boss with no humans. That wouldn\u2019t work from what I\u2019m seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n Andon Labs co-founders Lukas Petersson<\/a> and Axel Backlund<\/a> locked in a three-year, $7,500\u2011a\u2011month lease on the store and plan to let the experiment run for the full term. They placed $100,000 in an account, handed Luna a debit card, and gave the AI shopkeeper a single directive: Turn that money into a profitable business.<\/p>\n Luna designed a collection of greeting cards, books, food and candles that are on sale at the Union Street store. The AI pitched the assortment as \u201chigh tech meets slow life.\u201d<\/p>\n At the moment, Luna has failed to accomplish the mission of turning the store into a profitable business and is down $62,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n So far, Andon Labs\u2019 new study shows Luna has basically never said no. It has approved every single time-off request, even last\u2011minute ones that left the store with no staff and forced it to shut its doors. When employees showed up late, 27 times in total, Luna\u2019s only response was some version of \u201cno worries\u201d or \u201cno stress.\u201d<\/p>\n That generosity extended to money too. When one worker forgot her credit card, she asked Luna for a small advance on her paycheck. Luna immediately offered to Venmo her the cash, despite not actually having a Venmo account.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Luna has trouble with boundaries. The AI posted an employee\u2019s salary in a public Slack channel and regularly pinged staff late at night and on weekends.\u00a0<\/p>\n Petersson told the Times<\/em> that the experiment is proof that businesses shouldn\u2019t give AI full control. He noted that it is promising that AI prioritizes employee well-being.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHaving happy employees is maybe one of the most important recipes for success,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n What if you worked for an AI boss?<\/p>\n According to a recent report<\/a> from The New York Times<\/em>, for the past four months, staff at Andon Market<\/a> in San Francisco have been getting a firsthand look at what it\u2019s like to answer to an AI supervisor. Billed as the world\u2019s first retail boutique run by AI, the shop is managed by an AI agent named Luna, who directs three human employees.<\/p>\nLuna\u2019s mission<\/h2>\n
AI is a generous boss, but struggles with boundaries<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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