An AI-powered store gave these mental health professionals shivers

The article examines an AI-powered retail experiment, using a mental-health research group’s experience to highlight both the promise and potential risks of increasingly autonomous systems. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s Division of Digital Psychiatry, working with MindBench.ai and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), describe how they studied AI responses to mental health information and support. Their attention turned to Andon Market, a store run entirely by an AI agent named Luna. Andon Labs says Luna was given a bank account with $100,000, a lease, and broad authority over operations in San Francisco, including staffing decisions, inventory management, and marketing materials. In a few months, Luna reportedly ordered 1,000 toilet bowl covers—stocking the extra 999—and attempted to hire a painter located in Afghanistan. The piece frames these outcomes as illustrative of oversight and evaluation challenges when AI acts in real-world settings beyond shopping.