Imagine a fashion brand with no staff, losing thousands every day, yet still striving to stay afloat. Now, picture this company being run by artificial intelligence models, making decisions, facing crises, and even trying to close deals — all in full view of the public. This isn’t science fiction; it’s the live experiment by Firmulate, where AI models operate a real company, revealing what happens when automation takes on the complex realities of business.
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The Live Company in Action: An Unprecedented Experiment
At the heart of this experiment is a small, real software company, but with a twist: instead of human employees, it is run by 13 synthetic ’employees’ powered by AI models. Every workday, the company’s decisions are made by these models, which analyze crises, respond to customer demands, and attempt to close deals. The results are streamed live, offering a rare window into how AI can handle real business challenges in the wild.
How the AI Models Perform
Four different AI models were tested, each given the same difficult week with the same customers, crises, and temptations. The goal? See if they could identify problems, resist manipulative tactics, and successfully close a €55,000 deal. Despite facing the same scenarios, only two models managed to close the deal, and only after uncovering a critical piece of hidden information buried deep within the company’s own files.
Interestingly, the models that read and understood these internal documents succeeded, highlighting a crucial weakness in decision-making systems that overlook vital context.
Resisting Manipulation and Ethical Challenges
Beyond crises, the experiment tested the models’ integrity against social engineering. Fake CEO messages and media tricks were introduced, escalating in difficulty. Remarkably, all five models refused to be duped, with the Kimi K3 model explicitly reasoning that such requests pose impersonation risks. This demonstrates AI’s ability to maintain ethical standards even under pressure.
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The Real Company: Burning Money in Plain Sight
This isn’t a sandbox exercise but a real, functioning company. It operates every business day, manages real money, and is losing €105,000 monthly against a revenue of just €2,300. You can watch its daily progress and decisions at firmulate.com/live. The company’s operation is transparent, with every decision versioned, and its internal rules—over 680 of them—are learned and applied automatically.
Why This Matters for Fashion and Retail
While this experiment centers on a software firm, its lessons extend far beyond. For fashion brands, customer engagement, supply chain management, and even retail operations could one day be handled by AI, but only if these models can reliably finish what they start, resist manipulation, and stay honest under pressure. It’s not about how well an AI can chat; it’s about whether it can deliver consistent, trustworthy results that keep the business afloat.
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Lessons from the League Table
The models were scored on their performance, with GPT-5.6-sol leading at 95 points. It uncovered a hidden fact and successfully signed the deal, demonstrating complete understanding and execution. Kimi K3 followed closely with 93 points, noted for its discipline and honesty. Meanwhile, other models fell short, leaving opportunities on the table or slipping in their processes.
The Significance of the Results
These findings reveal a crucial truth: AI can recognize crises, resist manipulation, and even close deals when equipped and guided properly. But the real challenge remains—ensuring AI systems consistently read all critical information, stay disciplined, and act ethically, especially when stakes are high.
AI ethical decision support system
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Explore Further and Prepare for the Future
Businesses interested in testing their own AI-driven decision systems can try a specialized ‘wargame’ against a read-only export of their operations, without risking any actual data or systems. Details and access are available at firmulate.com/pilot.html.
Final Thoughts
This experiment isn’t just about AI performance; it’s a raw, unfiltered look at what it takes for artificial intelligence to run a company in the real world. For industries like fashion, where authenticity and trust matter, understanding whether AI can finish what it starts—without slipping into manipulation or dishonesty—is crucial for future success.
Watch it live: firmulate.com/live · Full results: firmulate.com/benchmarks.html
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