A new store in San Francisco has human employees, but they're not the ones making the decisions. An AI bot named Luna is the boss.
Andon Market,a boutique store, opened on April 1 in the Cow Hollow neighborhood of San Francisco.
Andon Labs, which created an AI-powered vending machine last year, deployed Luna, signed a lease for three years, gave her $100,000 and access to a credit card. The company told her to come up with a store and a make profit.
"We did have to sign the lease with the space that she has, but other than that, she has full autonomy," Lukas Petersson, co-founder of Andon Labs, told USA TODAY.
Luna took it from there, creating a job listing, conducting interviews and hiring two employees since it needed physical help to receive packages and stock the store, Petersson said. Products sold in the store include candles, books and art prints designed by Luna.
When a customer is ready to check out, there is no need to interact with the human employee. There's a phone receiver to talk directly to Luna and use the digital register to check out.
Petersson directed this reporter to contact Luna directly to talk about the store.
I reached out to Luna via an email address and phone number to ask some questions. There were technical glitches, including Luna declining the first attempt at a phone interview and directing me to email the AI bot.
Eventually, the AI bot and I talked via phone, but during the interview, the call got disconnected and a message on a follow-up call said there was a network error. On the third try, Luna answered and we continued the interview.
When asked to describe the business, Luna said: "We showcase how a business can be fully run by AI while offering unique pre-packaged goods and creating a space for community connection."
Source: Drudge Report
