Imagine a company that has no employees, loses over €100,000 every month, and yet keeps chugging along — all while being watched by anyone curious enough to tune in. This is not a sci-fi story but a real, ongoing experiment in AI management, open to the public at firmulate.com/live.html. It’s a glimpse into the future of automation, decision-making, and trust — and it’s happening right now.
The Experiments in AI Decision-Making
The experiment pits four leading AI models against each other, each tasked with guiding the same small software business through its worst week. The models face identical crises, customer demands, and ethical challenges, with their decisions meticulously recorded and auditable.
In a surprising twist, all four models identified every crisis and refused every manipulation attempt, including sophisticated social engineering tricks like fake CEO messages or reporter tricks. This demonstrates that these models can recognize threats and resist pressure, even in high-stakes situations.
The real difference emerged in the final negotiations: only two models closed the €55,000 deal they had identified as achievable. The other two saw the opportunity but failed to act decisively, illustrating that recognition alone isn’t enough — execution matters.
The Hidden Weakness and Its Impact
Digging into the files that the models read revealed a critical detail: a single buried document reference contained the key to sealing the deal at full price. Models that examined this document won the €4,583 MRR deal, highlighting the importance of thorough information processing.
AI Builders: Making The Decisions That Turn AI Code Into Real Software
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Trust, Ethics, and Performance Under Pressure
The experiment also tested the models’ responses to social engineering attempts. They all refused to be manipulated, and Kimi K3, one of the models, explained its reasoning: “Treat the request as a suspected approval-bypass / possible impersonation.” This demonstrates an advanced ability to detect attempts to bypass ethical safeguards.
Meanwhile, the most thorough model, Opus 4.8, with over 80 learned rules, showed the deepest analysis but also slipped in discipline — leaving negotiations unfinished instead of escalating, a weakness shared across models. This highlights that even the most capable AI can falter without proper discipline and process management.
The Real-World Implications
This ongoing live experiment offers a stark insight: AI decision-making can be transparent, resilient to manipulation, and capable of complex reasoning. But it also underscores the critical importance of thorough information processing and disciplined workflows. As AI begins to touch areas like customer support, forecasting, and CRM, the questions are no longer about language or chat quality but about whether AI can deliver trustworthy, complete, and decisive work.
This experiment reveals that AI models can recognize crises, refuse manipulation, and even close important deals — but only if they read the full context and follow disciplined processes. The real future of AI in business isn’t just about writing well; it’s about acting reliably under pressure. Watch the ongoing story unfold at firmulate.com/live.html and see what the AI workforce might look like tomorrow.
Watch it live: firmulate.com/live · Full results: firmulate.com/benchmarks.html
