Bengaluru Techie Uses AI ‘Roommate’ To Monitor Cook, Fires Her For Alleged Fruit Theft

A tech professional from Bengaluru has sparked an online debate after revealing that he deployed an AI-powered monitoring system in his kitchen to track his cook’s activities — and later fired her for allegedly stealing fruit.

Pankaj Tanwar, who describes himself as a serial innovator, shared on X that his “AI roommate” — a CCTV camera integrated with an AI chatbot — helped him catch his cook “red handed” taking apples, blueberries and a banana from his refrigerator on multiple occasions.

“My cook was stealing fruits from my fridge so I deployed my AI roommate in the kitchen and it caught her red handed. I caught her twice this week. Just fired her,” he wrote.

According to Tanwar, the AI roommate continuously monitors the kitchen through a surveillance camera mounted on a cupboard. The system detects and blurs faces locally before sending footage to a vision AI model for interpretation. The processed information is then relayed to a language model that generates conversational responses.

He said the system not only flagged instances of alleged fruit theft but also tracked how often the cook washed her hands, how thoroughly she cleaned the kitchen, and how long she took to prepare meals.

In screenshots shared online, the AI chatbot detailed specific actions — including the number of times the refrigerator was opened before cooking and observations about hygiene practices.

The post triggered mixed reactions, with many users questioning the ethics of surveilling domestic workers. Some criticised Tanwar for monitoring household help over fruit worth a few hundred rupees, especially when he reportedly paid ₹4,800 per month.

“Pays ₹4800 to the cook per month. Spies on them. Brags and gets celebrated for the spying,” one user commented.

Others asked why he did not simply allow the cook to take food with permission. Tanwar responded that he had confronted her twice before installing the AI system and was “okay with her taking food” if she had asked, but not with stealing.

The incident has reignited discussions around workplace dignity, privacy, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in everyday domestic settings.