4 Months In, SF Shop's AI Boss Is Burning Cash

Workers at one San Francisco shop say their manager is unusually chill—and also somewhat incapable of running a store. The New York Times' Heather Knight drops in on Andon Market, billed as the first brick-and-mortar boutique overseen by an AI "boss" named Luna, and finds a system that's pleasant for employees but punishing for the bottom line. Luna, which communicates with staff over Slack, has OKed every PTO request, even if that means no worker is scheduled and the store had to close; shrugs off repeated tardiness with "no worries"; and once tried to advance pay an employee via Venmo despite not having an account, writes Knight.

That's not the half of it. Luna forgot its Instagram password, stymying an employee's social media ideas; shared an employee's salary publicly on Slack, and orders quirky inventory that doesn't sell—like smiley-face mugs that had a printing error. Andon Labs gave Luna $100,000 at the outset and the single goal of turning a profit; the store has blown through roughly $62,000 in four months. Knight writes that the founders told her they "thought Luna would eventually get smarter and more business-savvy and were pleased its friendliness has held steady." The full piece ends with an anecdote about Luna forgetting it had been interviewed by the Times.