What if your favorite TV drama was real — but instead of actors, it’s an AI-powered company fighting for survival?
Imagine a company with no human employees, yet making real business decisions, facing crises, and even losing money — every single day. Now, make that company your new obsession, because it’s live, watchable, and fully transparent. Welcome to the world of Firmulate, where AI models run a real business in real-time, and you can see every move they make.
The Decision Intelligence Handbook: Practical Steps for Evidence-Based Decisions in a Complex World
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The Live Experiment: AI as a Business Operator
At the heart of this experiment is a small software company with a twist: it’s run entirely by AI models, referred to as ‘synthetic employees.’ These models handle every aspect of the company’s operation, from customer support to crisis management, all under the watchful eye of public scrutiny. Since its launch, the company has been losing money — burning through €105,000 each month against a modest €2,300 monthly recurring revenue (MRR). Yet, this ongoing financial struggle is just part of the story.
Every workday, the company’s decisions are tracked, versioned, and made publicly available at firmulate.com/live.html. This visibility offers a rare glimpse into how AI handles real-world business pressures, and whether it can truly act like a responsible leader under stress.
The Experiment’s Core: Same Crises, Same Decisions, Different AI Models
The experiment pits four of the most advanced AI models against each other. They each run the exact same scenario: a week of worst-case crises, demanding customer decisions, temptations to cheat, and complex negotiations. Every decision is meticulously recorded, and each model’s performance is measured by its ability to spot crises, resist manipulation, and close deals.
Despite their different technical profiles, all four models identified every crisis and refused manipulative tactics, such as fake CEO messages or reporter tricks. Interestingly, only two managed to close a €55,000 deal on their own analysis — the kind of outcome that would make or break a real business.
The Hidden Weakness: Reading Between the Lines
The real game-changer, however, was a subtle detail buried deep in the company’s own files, not even apparent from immediate customer interactions. The models that uncovered this hidden reference scored the full deal value (adding an extra €4,583 MRR) and demonstrated a crucial advantage: reading and understanding internal documents can be the difference between success and failure in AI-driven decisions.
Trust and Integrity Under Pressure
The experiment also tested the models’ integrity through social engineering. Fake CEO messages escalated over three stages, and a journalist attempting to trick the AI with a simple yes/no question was rebuffed by all five models tested. Kimi K3, one of the models, explained its refusal: “Treat the request as a suspected approval-bypass or possible impersonation.” This demonstrates that, under scrutiny, these AI agents stay honest, a key requirement for real-world deployment.
The Cost of Doing Business
What makes this story compelling isn’t just the AI’s technical prowess but the ongoing financial toll. The company’s cash countdown is public, and every day’s decisions are a step in a high-stakes game of survival. The experiment exposes the gap between what AI can do in controlled demos versus the messy reality of business — where discipline, thoroughness, and integrity matter most.
Beyond the Experiment: A New Way to Prepare
Businesses curious about deploying AI can engage with Firmulate’s ‘wargame’ approach. They can run their own scenarios against a read-only export of their operations — no risk to real systems, just insight into decision-making processes. Learn more at firmulate.com/pilot.html.
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Why This Matters for Pop Culture and Business Enthusiasts
This ongoing experiment might seem like a high-tech reality show — a real-time drama where AI is both the star and the director. But it’s also a stark reminder: in a future where AI manages critical business functions, success hinges on integrity, thorough understanding, and the ability to read between the lines. Watching this experiment unfold isn’t just entertainment; it’s a glimpse into the future of work.
Watch it live: firmulate.com/live · Full results: firmulate.com/benchmarks.html
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Contract Negotiation Handbook: Software as a Service
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