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The thing about doing something like what PearAI did is that worst case, they get flamed, they apologize and make changes, but overall don't lose much. They sti

The thing about doing something like what PearAI did is that worst case, they get flamed, they apologize and make changes, but overall don't lose much. They still have the YC label, the money, and free publicity. In a few months nobody will care, so overall their decisions were a net benefit. Has any startup founder ever really suffered due to bad publicity? Short of extreme cases like Theranos, worst case scenario is they get a golden parachute, enjoy a few months/years "soul searching" then emerge with another startup. However most of the time nothing really happens. People only came after PearAI because their founders' arrogance was particularly egregious. A bit of preemptive covering their tracks and nobody would have done anything.

gkbrk 2y ago
I don't know what happened to the people behind it, but bad publicity basically killed livecoding.tv. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10486476 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10486476
deleted 2y ago
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imiric 2y ago
I agree with you, but what do you think should be done instead? What they did was misleading and dishonest, but it wasn't illegal. Should they be expelled from YC because of it? Maybe, maybe not. I feel like endless persecution for "bad" behavior, part of the current cancel culture we're living in, is not healthy for society. People can make mistakes, and as long as they acknowledge and make an effort to correct them, they should be allowed to move on with their lives.
- kibibu 2y ago
  Well, they could be kicked out of the program for one.
- DonHopkins 2y ago
  People who say shit like "dawg I chatgpt'd the license" aren't healthy for society.
- laserlight 2y ago
  > What they did was misleading and dishonest, but it wasn't illegal. Misrepresentation is illegal [0]. [0] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/misrepresentation.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/misrepresentation.asp
- atleastoptimal 2y ago
  Well that's the thing, they only owned up to their mistakes because they were criticized. However what they did to any objective observer was a net benefit for them in the end, so it overall incentivized misleading and dishonest behavior as long as you can get away with it. The only things standing between where we are and a low-trust kleptocracy are upholding standards of behavior, either through encouragement of good behavior or punishment of bad behavior.

gkbrk 2y ago

I don't know what happened to the people behind it, but bad publicity basically killed livecoding.tv. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10486476 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10486476

deleted 2y ago

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imiric 2y ago

I agree with you, but what do you think should be done instead? What they did was misleading and dishonest, but it wasn't illegal. Should they be expelled from YC because of it? Maybe, maybe not. I feel like endless persecution for "bad" behavior, part of the current cancel culture we're living in, is not healthy for society. People can make mistakes, and as long as they acknowledge and make an effort to correct them, they should be allowed to move on with their lives.

kibibu 2y ago
Well, they could be kicked out of the program for one.
DonHopkins 2y ago
People who say shit like "dawg I chatgpt'd the license" aren't healthy for society.
laserlight 2y ago
> What they did was misleading and dishonest, but it wasn't illegal. Misrepresentation is illegal [0]. [0] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/misrepresentation.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/misrepresentation.asp
atleastoptimal 2y ago
Well that's the thing, they only owned up to their mistakes because they were criticized. However what they did to any objective observer was a net benefit for them in the end, so it overall incentivized misleading and dishonest behavior as long as you can get away with it. The only things standing between where we are and a low-trust kleptocracy are upholding standards of behavior, either through encouragement of good behavior or punishment of bad behavior.