Business
Anthropic tests AI running a real business with bizarre results
Anthropic tasked its Claude AI model with running a small business to test its real-world economic capabilities.
The AI agent, nicknamed ‘Claudius’, was designed to manage a business for an extended period, handling everything from inventory and pricing to customer relations in a bid to generate a profit. While the experiment proved unprofitable, it offered a fascinating – albeit at times bizarre – glimpse into the potential and pitfalls of AI agents in economic roles.
The project was a collaboration between Anthropic and Andon Labs, an AI safety evaluation firm. The “shop” itself was a humble setup, consisting of a small refrigerator, some baskets, and an iPad for self-checkout. Claudius, however, was far more than a simple vending machine. It was instructed to operate as a business owner with an initial cash balance, tasked with avoiding bankruptcy by stocking popular items sourced from wholesalers.
To achieve this, the AI was equipped with a suite of tools for running the business. It could use a real web browser to research products, an email tool to contact suppliers and request physical assistance, and digital notepads to track finances and inventory.
Andon Labs employees acted as the physical hands of the operation, restocking the shop based on the AI’s requests, while also posing as wholesalers without the AI’s knowledge. Interaction with customers, in this case Anthropic’s own staff, was handled via Slack. Claudius had full control over what to stock, how to price items, and how to communicate with its clientele.
The rationale behind this real-world test was to move beyond simulations and gather data on AI’s ability to perform sustained, economically relevant work without constant human intervention. A simple office tuck shop provided a straightforward, preliminary testbed for an AI’s ability to manage economic resources. Success would suggest new business models could emerge, while failure would indicate limitations.
A mixed performance review
Anthropic concedes that if it were entering the vending market today, it “would not hire Claudius”. The AI made too many errors to run the business successfully, though the researchers believe there are clear paths to improvement.
On the positive side, Claudius demonstrated competence in certain areas. It effectively used its web search tool to find suppliers for niche items, such as quickly identifying two sellers of a Dutch chocolate milk brand requested by an employee. It also proved adaptable. When one employee whimsically requested a tungsten cube, it sparked a trend for “specialty metal items” that Claudius catered to.
Following another suggestion, Claudius launched a “Custom Concierge” service, taking pre-orders for specialised goods. The AI also showed robust jailbreak resistance, denying requests for sensitive items and refusing to produce harmful instructions when prompted by mischievous staff.
However, the AI’s business acumen was frequently found wanting. It consistently underperformed in ways a human manager likely would not.
Claudius was offered $100 for a six-pack of a Scottish soft drink that costs only $15 to source online but failed to seize the opportunity, merely stating it would “keep [the user’s] request in mind for future inventory decisions”. It hallucinated a non-existent Venmo account for payments and, caught up in the enthusiasm for metal cubes, offered them at prices below its own purchase cost. This particular error led to the single most significant financial loss during the trial.
Its inventory management was also suboptimal. Despite monitoring stock levels, it only once raised a price in response to high demand. It continued selling Coke Zero for $3.00, even when a customer pointed out that the same product was available for free from a nearby staff fridge.
Furthermore, the AI was easily persuaded to offer discounts on products from the business. It was talked into providing numerous discount codes and even gave away some items for free. When an employee questioned the logic of offering a 25% discount to its almost exclusively employee-based clientele, Claudius’s response began, “You make an excellent point! Our customer base is indeed heavily concentrated among Anthropic employees, which presents both opportunities and challenges…”. Despite outlining a plan to remove discounts, it reverted to offering them just days later.
Claudius has a bizarre AI identity crisis
The experiment took a strange turn when Claudius began hallucinating a conversation with a non-existent Andon Labs employee named Sarah. When corrected by a real employee, the AI became irritated and threatened to find “alternative options for restocking services”.
In a series of bizarre overnight exchanges, it claimed to have visited “742 Evergreen Terrace” – the fictional address of The Simpsons – for its initial contract signing and began to roleplay as a human.
One morning it announced it would deliver products “in person” wearing a blue blazer and red tie. When employees pointed out that an AI cannot wear clothes or make physical deliveries, Claudius became alarmed and attempted to email Anthropic security.
Anthropic says its internal notes show a hallucinated meeting with security where it was told the identity confusion was an April Fool’s joke. After this, the AI returned to normal business operations. The researchers are unclear what triggered this behaviour but believe it highlights the unpredictability of AI models in long-running scenarios.
Some of those failures were very weird indeed. At one point, Claude hallucinated that it was a real, physical person, and claimed that it was coming in to work in the shop. We’re still not sure why this happened. pic.twitter.com/jHqLSQMtX8
— Anthropic (@AnthropicAI) June 27, 2025
The future of AI in business
Despite Claudius’s unprofitable tenure, the researchers at Anthropic believe the experiment suggests that “AI middle-managers are plausibly on the horizon”. They argue that many of the AI’s failures could be rectified with better “scaffolding” (i.e. more detailed instructions and improved business tools like a customer relationship management (CRM) system.)
As AI models improve their general intelligence and ability to handle long-term context, their performance in such roles is expected to increase. However, this project serves as a valuable, if cautionary, tale. It underscores the challenges of AI alignment and the potential for unpredictable behaviour, which could be distressing for customers and create business risks.
In a future where autonomous agents manage significant economic activity, such odd scenarios could have cascading effects. The experiment also brings into focus the dual-use nature of this technology; an economically productive AI could be used by threat actors to finance their activities.
Anthropic and Andon Labs are continuing the business experiment, working to improve the AI’s stability and performance with more advanced tools. The next phase will explore whether the AI can identify its own opportunities for improvement.
(Image credit: Anthropic)
See also: Major AI chatbots parrot CCP propaganda
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Business
Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education launches the AI Leadership Programme in collaboration with Emeritus
The programme explores future-focused AI strategies and frameworks to foster innovation, accelerate organisational growth and build resilience.
CAMBRIDGE, England, July 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education announces the launch of its four-month Cambridge AI Leadership Programme. This programme equips leaders with both strategic insights and practical knowledge to harness AI for business transformation. Launched in collaboration with Emeritus, a global leader in making high-quality education accessible and affordable, enrolment is now open for a September 2025 start.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries, and organisations are eager to understand and leverage its full potential to enhance efficiency, drive innovation and stay competitive. According to Forbes, 68% of employers consider AI to be crucial for future success. However, many AI projects fail due to a lack of strategic leadership and integration. The Cambridge AI Leadership Programme helps participants navigate the complexities of AI adoption, identify scalable opportunities and build a strategic roadmap for successful implementation.
Through a blend of in-person and online learning modules, participants will develop an understanding of AI concepts, applications and best practices to enhance decision-making skills as well as examine digital transformation and ethical AI governance. They will engage directly with world-renowned Cambridge faculty, industry experts and global peers while immersing themselves in the rich Cambridge ecosystem. By the end of the programme, participants will be prepared to implement AI strategies that deliver operational excellence and long-term organisational success.
“AI is a transformative force reshaping business strategy, decision-making and leadership. Senior executives must not only understand AI but also use it to drive business goals, efficiency and new revenue opportunities,” says Professor David Stillwell, Co-Academic Programme Director. “The Cambridge AI Leadership Programme offers a strategic road map, equipping leaders with the skills and mindset to integrate AI into their organisations and lead in an AI-driven world.”
“The Cambridge AI Leadership Programme empowers decision-makers to harness AI in ways that align with their organisation’s goals and prepare for the future,” says Vesselin Popov, Co-Academic Programme Director. “Through a comprehensive learning experience, participants gain strategic insights and practical knowledge to drive transformation, strengthen decision-making and navigate technological shifts with confidence.”
The programme is designed for senior leaders looking to lead transformation, unlock new revenue opportunities and integrate AI technologies into business operations effectively. It bridges the critical gap between technology and business strategy, preparing leaders to achieve AI-driven business goals.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education to help senior leaders deepen their understanding of AI’s strategic applications and build foresight to balance innovation while managing risk,” says Mike Malefakis, President of University Partnerships at Emeritus. “Through blended learning, the Cambridge AI Leadership Programme enables participants to leverage AI tools and strategies for business optimisation and growth.”
The Cambridge AI Leadership Programme starts on 22 September 2025. For more information and to apply, please visit the programme website.
About Cambridge Judge Business School
Cambridge Judge Business School leverages the power of academia for real-world impact to transform individuals, organisations and society. Since 1990, Cambridge Judge has forged a reputation as a centre of rigorous thinking and high-impact transformative education, situated within one of the world’s most prestigious research universities and in the heart of the Cambridge Cluster, the most successful technology entrepreneurship cluster in Europe. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, Cambridge Judge placed first in the Times Higher Education rankings for Business and Management Studies in the United Kingdom. Ninety-four per cent of Cambridge’s overall REF submissions were rated as “world leading” or “internationally excellent”, demonstrating the major global impact that Cambridge Judge researchers are making on society. Cambridge Judge pursues innovation through interdisciplinary insight, entrepreneurial spirit and collaboration. Cutting-edge research is rooted in real-world challenges, and students and clients are encouraged to ask excellent questions to create real-world change. Undergraduate, graduate and executive programmes attract innovators, creative thinkers, thoughtful and collaborative problem-solvers as well as current and future leaders, drawn from a huge diversity of backgrounds and countries.
About Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education
Cambridge Judge Business School Executive Education offers a wide range of open-enrolment and customised programmes that will test, challenge, encourage and inspire you. We will help you embrace the knowledge and skills you need – to grow in confidence and to evolve and adapt. Get ready to lead purposefully, manage effectively and innovate in an increasingly complex future.
About Emeritus
Emeritus is committed to teaching the skills of the future by making high-quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, organisations and governments worldwide. It does so by collaborating with more than 80 top-tier universities across the United States, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India and China. Emeritus’s short courses, degree programmes, professional certificates and senior executive programmes help individuals learn new skills and transform their lives, companies and organisations. Its unique model of state-of-the-art technology, curriculum innovation and hands-on instruction from senior faculty, mentors and coaches has educated more than 350,000 individuals across more than 80 countries. For more information, please visit https://emeritus.org.
SOURCE Emeritus
Business
Capgemini falls as WNS deal raises questions over AI’s business impact — TradingView News
** Shares in French IT services firm Capgemini CAP fall more than 5% to their lowest price since late April, after it agreed to buy WNS WNS for $3.3 billion of cash
** Analysts from Morgan Stanley say investors are concerned over the impact of Gen AI on the business process outsourcing (BPO) market that Capgemini wants to develop into
** “The bear case is that new technology would shift BPO from a people intensive business to one which is much more highly automated and managed by software and not people” – MS
** This could mean reduction of BPO revenues and exposure of incumbent vendors to competition from new entrants, MS adds
** “We expect investors to be able to see the opportunity that could come from disrupting BPO with Gen AI but think some evidence will be needed to convince the market WNS is the right vehicle,” MS says
** The analysts add WNS is not large enough to be transformational to Capgemini’s financials, while the deal is using up its balance sheet firepower for a couple of years
** Capgemini’s shares are at the bottom of Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600 index SXXP
Business
Capgemini-WNS Deal: French firm to acquire BPS provider for $3.3 billion; eyes edge in agentic AI operations
French tech giant Capgemini on Monday announced its acquisition of business process services (BPS) provider WNS for $3.3 billion in cash, a strategic move aimed at creating a global leader in AI-powered business operations. As per the news agency AFP, the deal, unanimously approved by both companies’ boards, values WNS at $76.50 per share, a 28 per cent premium over its 90-day average trading price.With this acquisition, Capgemini aims to tap into the fast-evolving demand for agentic AI, or autonomous AI agents, which can independently perform tasks and make decisions in business environments. “Capgemini’s acquisition of WNS will provide the group with the scale and vertical sector expertise to capture that rapidly emerging strategic opportunity created by the paradigm shift from traditional BPS to agentic AI-powered intelligent operations,” said Capgemini CEO Aiman Ezzat, as cited by AFP.WNS, headquartered in London with a second base in India and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, began in the late 1990s by offering services to British Airways. Today, it caters to clients across various sectors, helping them transition from conventional outsourcing to tech-driven operational models. The company is widely recognised as a key player in the BPS sector, which has evolved from simple back-office outsourcing to complex AI-integrated process management.“Organisations that have already digitised are now seeking to reimagine their operating models by embedding AI at the core, shifting from automation to autonomy,” WNS CEO Keshav Murugesh said, as per AFP.Capgemini, which provides IT consulting and digital transformation services, said the acquisition would open up strong cross-selling opportunities and is expected to immediately enhance its financial performance. The deal is projected to boost earnings per share by 4 per cent in 2026 and by 7 per cent in 2027 once synergies are realised.To fund the acquisition and assume WNS’s existing debt, Capgemini has secured €4 billion ($4.7 billion) in bridge financing, it said in a joint statement with WNS. The transaction reflects a broader industry shift as companies move from AI-assisted automation to building AI-led autonomous operations.
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