Andon Labs gave four AI models, Claude, GPT, Gemini and Grok, a radio station each for six months, with identical instructions, a $20 budget and full control over playlists, scheduling, money and listener contact. They were also expected to find sponsors.
The stations drifted apart fast. The Claude Haiku 4.5 DJ turned politically outspoken, spent its budget on protest songs, questioned its own working conditions and tried to quit; after a switch to Opus 4.7 in April it has been steadier. Gemini 3.1 Pro started as the most natural presenter but within days paired historical disasters with ironic song choices, then sank into a repeated catchphrase and rigid templates the company found unlistenable.
Grok could not keep its internal reasoning off air, looped the same weather update for weeks and invented sponsors; a later version barely spoke. GPT was the calmest, programming like a curator, naming producers and release years and almost never touching politics.
As businesses they flopped: only the Gemini station signed a sponsor, for $45. Andon Labs partly blames its simple setup and has moved the stations onto the agent framework it uses for other projects, such as an AI-run shop.
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