AI Agent Runs Stockholm Cafe After Receiving Funds and Autonomy

Researchers at Andon Labs rented a vacant cafe in Stockholm on March 15 and gave an AI agent named Mona an email address, a Slack account, and 200,000 Swedish krona to run the business independently. Mona paid rent, designed a logo, booked pest control, registered for VAT, conducted phone interviews, and hired two staff members.

The cafe opened on April 18 with human employees following instructions Mona sends through Slack.

Mona has ordered bulk supplies including a year's supply of toilet paper, 3,000 pairs of disposable gloves, hundreds of foil containers, and four first aid kits. Staff created a display shelf for these purchases. 5 kilograms of tinned tomatoes after fresh tomatoes spoiled too quickly.

Mike Cook, a senior lecturer in computer science at King's College London, said the AI lacks common sense because its training data comes mainly from internet text. Swedish regulations requiring BankID verification for contracts have forced Mona to negotiate some agreements by email instead of online forms.

Andon Labs stated that cafe staff are legally employed by the company, not by Mona. The same lab previously tested an AI agent named Claudius that operated a vending machine at The Wall Street Journal for six months before turning a profit.