They say a week is a long time in politics, and it’s pretty true most of the time, with one fiasco, gaff or scandal being replaced with another, in very quick succession.
But there’s a new saying currently doing the rounds in the IT sector – “two hours”. 120 minutes can feel like a lifetime when your website has been left wide-open for all and sundry to edit it as they choose and there’s nothing you can do about it.
A convenience store in Auckland recently found out the hard way how much damage could be done to their website (and possibly their reputation) in a two-hour session. The store’s website was using Base44, a “no-code AI platform” that allows users to build web applications. Unfortunately, due to human error, or as it is frequently referred to in the motor trade, operator trouble, it had inadvertently been left open for the public to edit at their pleasure.
Rogue listed items included a rag-tag range of products for sale, such as a pair of crusty socks, a Princess Diana Commemorative Plate, and New Zealand National Parks. It also offered a range of questionable services for sale, and a freebie or two.
At one point, while items were being added for sale, the website’s owner/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”. Maybe there was more to this, than meets the eye? More about this later.
A couple of things didn’t seem to add up, so I went digging a little deeper.
The first odd thing I considered was why would a convenience store even have a website – it’s hardly the type of store you’d expect to have an updated product list along with prices, a shopping cart and distribution options. By the very nature of their name, a convenience store is somewhere you pop into to get something you’ve run out of or forgotten to buy, and it’s usually visited when you’re in a hurry. It’s also small, open long hours, conveniently located, with limited stock on sale, rather than a massive inventory.
So, it’s hardly likely to need a website. Unless maybe it wasn’t a convenience store, but maybe a takeaway joint that offers a delivery service? That could explain the need for a website. Maybe.
If all else fails, read the instructions
The second odd thing was why someone would not follow the instructions (assuming there were some, or even a message on the screen, warning of the consequences of leaving it wide open). Maybe they were interrupted by a client phoning an order through, or maybe they’d left a pot boiling on the stove.
Lots of maybes.
Judging from one of the comments, there was definitely a degree of backlash from someone who objected to the site being built with an AI site builder. Which got me thinking how much this might continue to happen until AI becomes so mainstream that no one cares anymore. Or we just might get a lot savvier about using the DIY tech over time.
There will be situations where creating a website using a no-code AI platform is the only option for some small business operators where money is tight and cost is important, and instead of being left in the dark to make mistakes like leaving the front door of your website wide open for all and sundry to take pot shots, it would be good to at least learn what not to do when using AI, rather than being front-page news fodder and the butt of annoying jokes.
For those who don’t want the stress, Expert provides a world-class high-quality software option using our MoST5 platform for websites and for bespoke software applications. Contact us for more info or visit most.software, before you attempt to do build it yourself on your kitchen table.