A Circle K customer in Canada reported that an AI-powered self-checkout kiosk attempted to add an $8.5 billion donation to the American Red Cross during a routine purchase.
The shopper was buying a hot dog and bottles of Gatorade when the screen displayed the unexpected total.
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According to a Reddit post, the customer shared screenshots after noticing the amount during the transaction.
The register still showed standard payment options such as cash or card, they said.
Circle K introduced AI-powered self-checkout kiosks in 2022, but the system has reportedly caused other errors, including items appearing on orders that were not scanned.
The customer said the donation prompt surfaced during checkout and added a figure they estimated at 8.5 billion.
"I just wanted a hot dog," they wrote.
They added that while they support the Red Cross, the request for such a large amount felt excessive, especially as the checkout total increased beyond anything they expected to pay.
"Yesterday, tho, it threw this little gem in thinking I wouldn't notice an $8.5 Billion Donation to the Red Cross," they wrote.
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After seeing the total, the shopper stopped the transaction and notified the store clerk, who was described as surprised.
The incident ended without the donation being charged.
Reactions and Speculation
Circle K has not publicly explained how the kiosk produced the donation total.
Tech coverage of the viral receipt noted that some users speculated the number could be a phone number entered into a donation field or linked to another input rather than a calculated monetary amount.
Multiple outlets also pointed to the broader retail push toward AI-enabled checkout systems designed to recognize products without traditional barcode scanning.
Circle K is described as aiming to process multiple items at once to reduce checkout time.
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The episode revived questions about the reliability of AI consumer tools, including the risk of incorrect outputs or unexpected recommendations when automated systems interact with user inputs.
