An Auckland convenience store is in the midst of an ongoing online battle after inadvertently allowing its website to be edited by the general public.

An Auckland convenience store is in the midst of an ongoing online battle after inadvertently allowing its website to be edited by the general public.

The store […] found itself advertising, among other things, a “pair of crusty socks”, a “Princess Diana Commemorative Plate”, and “National Parks to the highest bidder”.

The store’s site uses Base44, a “no-code AI platform” that allows users to build web applications, but it has been left open for the public to edit.

At one point, while items were being added for sale, the website’s operator appeared to be arguing with the public, with one item saying “stop hacking us”. An item popped up in response saying “don’t use an AI site builder then.”

    • Otter@lemmy.ca
      33·
      6 days ago

      Maybe we can help them, they made a new website here: http://127.0.0.1:3000/

      /s

      In all seriousness, there are plenty of cheap services out there for businesses that want a store/website without any technical experience

    • hyperion626@lemmy.world
      5·
      6 days ago

      I don’t think AI was the problem here. It was someone who didn’t know what they were doing using AI and not bothering to learn what the AI did.

      Like hiring a jr developer, giving them Prod access and telling them to have fun and make a site.

  • bignoseOPEnglish
    53·
    6 days ago

    My favourite, show in a screenshot but not mentioned in the text, is an item “Website Developer”, price “$0.00”.

  • dan@upvote.au
    37·
    6 days ago

    I don’t understand why someone would use AI to build an e-commerce site.

    For someone that doesn’t know what they’re doing, use something prebuilt and cloud-hosted like Shopify or Square. Even some major brands use it. The largest electronics store in Australia (JB HiFi, similar to Best Buy in the USA) uses Shopify Plus. I think Staples in the USA/Canada uses Shopify too.

    For someone that does know what they’re doing, they wouldn’t have left it open for other people to edit it. AI still needs fundamental understanding of how e-commerce sites work.

    • Klear@piefed.worldEnglish
      54·
      6 days ago

      The problem with people who don’t know what they’re doing is that they don’t know what they’re doing.

      • dan@upvote.au
        7·
        5 days ago

        I get that, but it’s still weird that their first reaction was “I should use AI for this” rather than “I should copy what other small stores do” or “I should Google ‘how to run an online store’”, either of which would have led to a better solution.

        • LordCrom@lemmy.world
          5·
          5 days ago

          it’s still weird that their first reaction was “I should use AI for this”

          Why is that? With AI being the solution to everything being advertised down our thoats on the daily… you dont think AI companies would lie to us do you?

    • Kissaki@programming.devEnglish
      2·
      5 days ago

      use something prebuilt and cloud-hosted

      That’s what these platforms are marketed as, though.

      They provide a platform and expertise that allows you to build your branded website.

    • Corbin@programming.devEnglish
      1·
      4 days ago

      The thrust of your advice is good, but Shopify is part of the whole Omarchy situation, having donated to Omacom. That site recommends “WooCommerce or Openfront instead of Shopify;” I have no experience with either of those alternatives but would recommend adding them to your list of options.

      • dan@upvote.au
        1·
        4 days ago

        oh no

        WooCommerce and Openfront are both things you need to host yourself, which is fine for tech savvy people but probably not something I’d recommend to someone with no experience (or who thinks using AI for it is a good idea).