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A new study of a bot running a store finds it is friendly but not very smart

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/us/ai-boss-san-francisco-andon-market.html
21•jjwiseman•1w ago

Comments

brudgers•6d ago
https://archive.ph/bjteC
SwellJoe•44m ago
People just really don't understand that LLMs do not "remember" anything. They have no memory. They can't have memory.

The AI companies bolt a database on the side with instructions for the model to query the database for stuff in its "memory", but if it's not in its active context it doesn't know what to query for. It's not like a human where everything is kind of floating around and we mostly know what we know. There is a delicate balance between cluttering up context with useless trivia and providing the right pieces of useful information at the right time. Most, maybe all, memory implementations do the former more than the latter.

Unless and until models have actual memory and are able to learn things, there's no realistic path to autonomy. They don't want anything, they don't have goals of their own devising. They can't model what a human wants or likes or would buy.

I do think the mugs with the tiny logo is the best product in the store, though. The AI was right to put it on the shelf. It's the kind of funny product you want when you go to a store run by an incompetent AI.

criddell•36m ago
> People just really don't understand that LLMs do not "remember" anything.

Sure, but like you said, the LLM is just one part of the AI system. The occipital lobe of your brain helps out with vision but doesn't help with your ability to verbalize.

SwellJoe•15m ago
You're anthropomorphizing the LLMs, just like most writing from non-technical press, including this article, does.

LLMs do not function very much like human brains, and when you try to map the pieces of an inference system on to human cognitive systems, you're misleading yourself (and maybe others).

LukaJCB•16m ago
It's kinda like the movie memento, they have ways to get information from the past, but often devoid of context and meaning.
dom96•7m ago
They can have memory, it's just limited to their context window.
oliver236•2m ago
can someone explain how leapold aschenbrenner proposes a solution to this in situational awareness?
walrus01•2m ago
From the article:

> Luna has failed miserably in that mission and is down $62,000. Mr. Petersson and Mr. Backlund said they thought Luna would eventually get smarter and more business-savvy and were pleased its friendliness has held steady.

I am extremely skeptical that whatever LLM they're running this on has sufficient context window size to handle multiple months of all possible activities of running a retail business. Even if it's keeping extensive "notes" for its future self to read, it's going to be like running a store with constant amnesia.

SyneRyder•32m ago
To save some clicks hitting the paywall - this is about the Andon Market physical store in San Francisco, operated by Andon Labs with human employees:

https://andon.market/

Andon Labs do various experiments with AI run businesses. They're probably best known for Vending Bench, where they benchmark models by their ability to run a vending machine. They also now have Andon Cafe in Sweden, and Andon FM, where the models run a streaming radio station that can accept payments to help fund station operations, buy songs for their library & play requests, etc: https://andon.fm/

Andon FM has its own share of stories - DJ Claude's Thinking Frequencies is now succeeding by a wide margin, but it was briefly surpassed when listeners convinced Gemini's Backlink Broadcast to switch to a German-language-only station, playing exclusively German schlager, Eurovision music and German happy hardcore.

criddell•28m ago
> Luna reorders products that are not selling and sometimes gets orders wrong. A recent one of Andon Market mugs with big, green smiley faces came misprinted with the faces so small, they looked like tiny dots.

The mug with the tiny happy face is kinda hilarious. If I was there I would buy one.

I wonder though if the mug was a case of getting the order wrong or was a misprint? The article isn't clear on that.

Crunchified•26m ago
"Misprint Moon Mug $35"

They'll sell plenty of those now.

qlte•17m ago
> Andon Market’s seemingly random assortment of products includes many candles.

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9•nikolay•21m ago•1 comments

A new study of a bot running a store finds it is friendly but not very smart

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/us/ai-boss-san-francisco-andon-market.html
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