AI Startup's 'Job-Killing' Boast Sparks Outrage: A Cautionary Tale for Creatives and Tech Ethics

The Backlash Against AI Job Loss Claims

A recent marketing stunt by AI video startup Higgsfield.ai has ignited a firestorm of criticism after the company bragged on social media about ending over 20 creative jobs with its AI motion design tools. The post, which has since been deleted, triggered outrage among artists and creators who are already grappling with AI's impact on the creative market.

Aharon Rabinowitz, CEO of Motion Management, summed up the sentiment: "Celebrating the end of artists' careers is just super dumb and shortsighted."

Questionable Marketing and Service Practices

This incident is just the latest in a series of controversies surrounding Higgsfield.ai. Online critics have accused the company of:

• Bait-and-switch marketing tactics, including promises of unlimited access to services like Google's Nano Banana Pro followed by account bans
• Undisclosed review astroturfing to counter negative feedback
• Predatory billing practices
• Deceptive, explicit marketing that some have labeled as "rage bait content"

One critic described Higgsfield as "A Company Built on Rage Bait Content, Stolen Likenesses, and Sexual Exploitation."

Behind the Service: A Wrapper for Third-Party AI

Ian Hudson, a UK-based software tester and video maker, explained to The Register that Higgsfield appears to be primarily a wrapper for other services: "It's doing API calls off to Google for Nano Banana and it's using a service called Kling for the video."

Hudson detailed several concerning practices:

• Throttled service delivery that creates the illusion of unlimited access while delivering only a fraction of what users could get by going directly to the underlying AI services
• Arbitrary queue delays that can stretch to 4-10 hours for a five-minute video
• No-refund policies that essentially prevent users from getting their money back once they've tested the service

The Engagement-Bait Strategy

Higgsfield's marketing approach appears to rely on controversial posts designed to generate attention and drama, followed by deletion to hide evidence. As Hudson noted, "It's childish and it's unprofessional."

Internet influencer Robert Scoble suggested this might be a deliberate strategy: "This guy is trying to capture attention in a world where none of us have any."

Industry Response and Accountability

The Register attempted to contact Higgsfield.ai for comment, but messages to their press email bounced, and their support team failed to follow up. Menlo Ventures, one of Higgsfield's investors, also declined to comment when approached.

On the company's Discord channel, users have been vocal about their dissatisfaction, with one post stating: "...it is evident that your marketing is deceptive and your service is non-functional."

The Bigger Picture for Creatives and Tech Ethics

This incident highlights several important issues for professionals in creative fields and the broader tech industry:

• The ethical implications of AI tools that displace human workers
• The importance of transparent marketing and honest service delivery
• The need for consumer protection in rapidly evolving tech markets
• The responsibility of venture capital firms to vet the companies they fund

As AI continues to transform creative industries, this case serves as a reminder that how companies communicate about job displacement matters just as much as the technology itself.