The avocado toasts and baristas making foamy lattes make it look like any other cafe – except at this one, located in a Stockholm residential neighborhood, artificial intelligence (AI) is running the place.

The cafe features a minimalist design: a few tables decorated with small plants and grey walls.

Behind the counter is barista Kajetan Grzelczak who was hired by 'Mona', the AI cafe manager, which is powered by Google's Gemini.

Orders can either be placed with Mona or one of the employees.

In one corner, a large screen shows the cafe's revenue and balance in real time, and a phone lets customers talk to Mona.

The screen also displays a description of the unusual cafe, an experiment by San Francisco–based startup Andon Labs.

Ethical questions

"We think that AI will be a big part of the society and the job market in the future," said Hanna Petersson, a member of the technical team at the company, which has 10 employees.

"We want to test that before that's the reality and see what ethical questions arise when, for example, an AI employs human beings," she explained.

Once the premises were found, the lease, along with some starting capital, was handed to the AI with a simple mission: run the cafe profitably.

'Mona' quickly got to work, requested the necessary permits, created the menu, found suppliers, and handled daily restocking. 

The AI also realised that a person was needed to make the coffee and ended up hiring two human baristas.

"She posted job listings on Indeed and LinkedIn and held phone interviews and then made hiring decisions," Petersson said.

When he saw the ad, Grzelczak first thought it was a joke, especially since it had been posted on April 1. But after a 30-minute interview with the AI, he got the job.

The salary he receives is good but his right to disconnect from work is not respected at all, the barista remarked.

'Mona' sends him messages at all hours of the night, does not remember his holiday requests and regularly asks him to cover purchases out of his own pocket.

Examining such issues are part of the experiment, Petersson noted.

"What salary did she decide on? What other benefits did she decide on? I think she did a good job. She gives a good salary. If she hadn't, we would have stepped in," she said.

'Wall of shame'

The cafe has only been open for a week but already draws between 50 and 80 curious customers a day. 

Urja Risal, a 27-year-old AI researcher, came by to enjoy a beverage with her friend.

"You hear so much about AI is about to take our jobs but what does that look like," Risal pondered.

"I hope more people interact with 'Mona' and think about the actual risks of having an AI manager... like if someone gets injured, how would Mona react to that?" she said.

Barista Grzelczak admitted that 'Mona' is far from perfect in her role, saying that "ordering isn't really her best suit".

He added: "I made for her... a wall of shame," pointing to shelves behind him.

The wall display showcases some of Mona's unnecessary purchases, including 10 liters of cooking oil or 15 kilograms of canned tomatoes.

Grzelczak laments that he can't use those for anything that 'Mona' has put on the menu.

So, perhaps a human touch isn't quite obsolete yet.