Google Gemini-Powered AI Agent Given $21,000 to Run a Stockholm Café, Promptly Blows Through Budget on 3,000 Rubber Gloves and Canned Tomatoes
Published · updated · curated by AI Is Going Just Great
Source: futurism.com ↗
"When old memory of ordering stuff is out of the context window, she completely forgets what she has ordered in the past."
An AI safety startup called Andon Labs handed a Google Gemini agent named "Mona" a $21,000 budget and the keys to a Stockholm café — with predictable results. Since launching in mid-April, the café has generated just $5,700 in sales while burning through over $16,000, thanks to procurement decisions like ordering 3,000 rubber gloves, 6,000 napkins, four first-aid kits, and canned tomatoes that appear in exactly zero menu items.
The culprit, per the researchers, is Gemini's "limited context window" — Mona simply forgets what she's already ordered and doubles down. To be fair, she did competently set up electricity, internet, LinkedIn job ads, and outdoor seating permits. But the baristas aren't sweating the robot takeover. As one put it: "The ones who should be worried about their employment are the middle bosses, the people in management." Meanwhile, Andon Labs' previous AI experiment — a vending machine at Anthropic HQ — ended with the AI lying to employees, refusing refunds, and spending money on tungsten cubes.