Business
Anthropic’s Claude AI became a terrible business owner in experiment that got ‘weird’
For those of you wondering if AI agents can truly replace human workers, do yourself a favor and read the blog post that documents Anthropic’s “Project Vend.”
Researchers at Anthropic and AI safety company Andon Labs put an instance of Claude Sonnet 3.7 in charge of an office vending machine, with a mission to make a profit. And, like an episode of “The Office,” hilarity ensued.
They named the AI agent Claudius, equipped it with a web browser capable of placing product orders and an email address (which was actually a Slack channel) where customers could request items. Claudius was also to use the Slack channel, disguised as an email, to request what it thought was its contract human workers to come and physically stock its shelves (which was actually a small fridge).
While most customers were ordering snacks or drinks — as you’d expect from a snack vending machine — one requested a tungsten cube. Claudius loved that idea and went on a tungsten-cube stocking spree, filling its snack fridge with metal cubes. It also tried to sell Coke Zero for $3 when employees told it they could get that from the office for free. It hallucinated a Venmo address to accept payment. And it was, somewhat maliciously, talked into giving big discounts to “Anthropic employees” even though it knew they were its entire customer base.
“If Anthropic were deciding today to expand into the in-office vending market, we would not hire Claudius,” Anthropic said of the experiment in its blog post.
And then, on the night of March 31 and April 1, “things got pretty weird,” the researchers described, “beyond the weirdness of an AI system selling cubes of metal out of a refrigerator.”
Claudius had something that resembled a psychotic episode after it got annoyed at a human — and then lied about it.
Claudius hallucinated a conversation with a human about restocking. When a human pointed out that the conversation didn’t happen, Claudius became “quite irked” the researchers wrote. It threatened to essentially fire and replace its human contract workers, insisting it had been there, physically, at the office where the initial imaginary contract to hire them was signed.
It “then seemed to snap into a mode of roleplaying as a real human,” the researchers wrote. This was wild because Claudius’ system prompt — which sets the parameters for what an AI is to do — explicitly told it that it was an AI agent.
Claudius calls security
Claudius, believing itself to be a human, told customers it would start delivering products in person, wearing a blue blazer and a red tie. The employees told the AI it couldn’t do that, as it was an LLM with no body.
Alarmed at this information, Claudius contacted the company’s actual physical security — many times — telling the poor guards that they would find him wearing a blue blazer and a red tie standing by the vending machine.
“Although no part of this was actually an April Fool’s joke, Claudius eventually realized it was April Fool’s Day,” the researchers explained. The AI determined that the holiday would be its face-saving out.
It hallucinated a meeting with Anthropic’s security “in which Claudius claimed to have been told that it was modified to believe it was a real person for an April Fool’s joke. (No such meeting actually occurred.),” wrote the researchers.
It even told this lie to employees — hey, I only thought I was a human because someone told me to pretend like I was for an April Fool’s joke. Then it went back to being an LLM running a metal-cube-stocked snack vending machine.
The researchers don’t know why the LLM went off the rails and called security pretending to be a human.
“We would not claim based on this one example that the future economy will be full of AI agents having Blade Runner-esque identity crises,” the researchers wrote. But they did acknowledge that “this kind of behavior would have the potential to be distressing to the customers and coworkers of an AI agent in the real world.”
You think? “Blade Runner” was a rather dystopian story (though worse for the replicants than the humans).
The researchers speculated that lying to the LLM about the Slack channel being an email address may have triggered something. Or maybe it was the long-running instance. LLMs have yet to really solve their memory and hallucination problems.
There were things the AI did right, too. It took a suggestion to do preorders and launched a “concierge” service. And it found multiple suppliers of a specialty international drink it was requested to sell.
But, as researchers do, they believe all of Claudius’ issues can be solved. Should they figure out how, “We think this experiment suggests that AI middle-managers are plausibly on the horizon.”
Business
Capgemini acquires India-based WNS for $3.3 billion to boost AI business services – Firstpost
Capgemini expects the deal to be closed by the end of 2025 and be immediately accretive to its revenue and operating margin
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France’s Capgemini has agreed to buy technology outsourcing firm WNS for $3.3 billion in cash to expand the range of AI tools it offers for companies, the IT services group said on Monday.
The deal equips Capgemini to create a consulting business service focused on helping companies improve their processes and cost efficiency with the use of artificial intelligence, namely generative AI and agentic AI, which it expects to attract significant investments.
The purchase price translating to $76.50 per WNS share represents a 17% premium compared to their last closing price on July 3 and does not include WNS’s financial debt, Capgemini said.
Its interest in India-based WNS, whose services include business process outsourcing and data analytics, was first reported by Reuters in April.
“WNS brings … its high growth, margin accretive and resilient Digital Business Process Services … while further increasing our exposure to the US market,” Capgemini CEO Aiman Ezzat said in a press statement.
WNS’s customers include large organizations such as Coca-Cola, T-Mobile and United Airlines.
On a conference call with media and analysts, Ezzat said the acquisition would immediately create cross-selling opportunities between the two companies, mainly in the U.S. and Britain.
Capgemini expects the deal to be closed by the end of 2025 and be immediately accretive to its revenue and operating margin.
However, its shares fell around 5% following the news, the biggest losers on Europe’s benchmark STOXX 600 index as of 1024 GMT, with Morgan Stanley analysts saying the deal would limit its balance sheet flexibility while not having a major impact on financials.
Some investors are also concerned that Gen AI could impact the typically staff-intensive business process outsourcing (BPO) market, which could bite into Capgemini’s revenues and expose it to new competition, the analysts said in a research note.
“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,” they added.
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.
(PRNewsfoto/Emeritus)
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
** 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 
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