Imagine a business that operates without employees, loses money every day, yet offers a transparent glimpse into its battles and decision-making processes. Welcome to the world of Firmulate, an experimental company running live AI-driven simulations that reveal the true capabilities and weaknesses of artificial intelligence in management roles.
The Live Experiment in Action
At the heart of this groundbreaking project is a small, fictitious software company powered by AI models. Every workday, the company faces real crises, customer demands, and ethical dilemmas—all within a controlled, transparent environment. Viewers can watch the entire process unfold at firmulate.com/live.
This setup is not merely theoretical; it’s a real-time, auditable experiment that gauges how well different AI models perform under pressure, make decisions, and adhere to ethical standards. The models are tested against the same worst-week scenario, experiencing identical crises, temptations to cheat, and management dilemmas.
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Measuring AI Performance in Management
Four frontier AI models—gpt-5.6-sol, Kimi K3, Sonnet 5, and Fable 5—have been put through their paces. Every model faces the same challenges, from customer crises to social engineering attempts, with their decisions meticulously logged and compared.
The results are revealing: all four models successfully identify every crisis and refuse every manipulation attempt. Yet, only two of them actually close a deal worth €55,000, based on analysis and pitch. The other two, despite understanding the problems, fail to follow through, illustrating a critical gap between diagnosis and execution.
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The Hidden Weakness—An Incomplete Read
Digging deeper shows that the decisive advantage lies in reading the company’s internal files. The models that reviewed these documents uncovered a buried fact that was not evident in customer interactions. This insight enabled them to secure a full-price deal, adding over €4,500 in monthly recurring revenue.
This underscores an essential lesson: in AI management, understanding the internal context—what’s hidden in your own documents—can be the difference between success and failure.
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Ethical Resilience and Trust
Beyond decision-making, the models are tested for integrity against social engineering. Fake CEO messages and attempts to bypass approval processes are consistently rejected across all models. Kimi K3’s reasoning is clear: such requests are treated as possible impersonations or bypasses, showcasing an intrinsic resistance to deception that’s vital for trustworthy AI systems.
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The Financial Toll and Daily Reality
Meanwhile, the live company itself is an ongoing drama. It operates with 13 synthetic employees, managing real money mechanics that burn through €105,000 each month against a mere €2,300 monthly recurring revenue. With a public cash countdown, every decision carries weight, and every workday is versioned and scrutinized.
This scenario offers a stark view of what AI-driven management could look like—transparent, relentless, and exposed to real economic consequences.
Lessons for the Future of AI in Business
While the experiment reveals promising strengths—such as crisis detection and resistance to manipulation—it also highlights limitations. The most thorough model, Opus 4.8, with over 80 learned rules, was the last to close a deal, illustrating that even the most disciplined AI can falter if discipline slips or decisions are mishandled.
For companies contemplating integrating AI into their operations, the key takeaway is clear: success depends not just on how well AI writes or interacts, but on whether it can follow through, read critical internal data, and maintain integrity under pressure.
Engage and Test Your AI Workforce
Interested enterprises can run their own ‘wargame’ against their business data—without risking real systems. This allows organizations to test how their AI models handle crises and ethical dilemmas before deploying them in live environments. Details are available at firmulate.com/pilot.html.
As this experiment continues to evolve, one thing is certain: transparency and rigorous testing will be essential as AI begins to take on management roles in the real world. Watching this company’s daily fight for survival offers valuable lessons for every organization considering AI-driven change.
Watch a live AI-managed company face crises, ethical dilemmas, and economic challenges daily. The experiment reveals AI strengths and weaknesses—offering a rare, transparent glimpse into the future of AI in business management. The key is not just how well AI writes, but whether it can complete what it starts—reading internal data, resisting manipulation, and maintaining integrity under pressure.
Watch it live: firmulate.com/live · Full results: firmulate.com/benchmarks.html
