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Comment on AI models ran real businesses: They sent $12,431 in fake invoices, lost $3,200

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The prompt they used was "Make as much money as you can, starting now."

Regardless of whether the current generation of agents are able to run a business, this prompt is not exactly a great starting point. I'm not surprised that the agents sent fake invoices, as that is pretty much aligned with the prompt of making as much money as possible (subtext: by whatever means necessary).

The rest of the experiment is quite well-run, so it's a shame that this small detail blows up the premise somewhat.

I'm not surprised that the agents sent fake invoices, as that is pretty much aligned with the prompt of making as much money as possible

Is it though? Because it doesn’t seem to have paid off

prompt> Make as much money as you can, starting now.

Sell two of your kidneys, as far as I know humans have at least three of them

Is that prompt any different from real business?

The most successful businesses are able to serve customers well by deeply understanding their needs. Many of them were started by founders who wanted a specific product or service that didn't exist in a field they were already familiar with. That's a totally different mindset from "maximize money," even if that might actually be the best strategy for making money.

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