The release of ChatGPT felt like opening Pandora’s box, and it was both a blessing and a curse. Almost overnight, companies scrambled to label everything as AI-powered in hopes of standing out in a crowded tech market. One such company was Nate, a shopping app based in San Francisco, California. It claimed that users could make purchases from any online store with just a single tap, thanks to its so-called advanced AI.
However, the truth eventually came to light when the former CEO of Nate was charged with fraud. The FBI discovered that the app wasn’t powered by cutting-edge technology after all. Instead, it relied on real workers in the Philippines who manually performed the tasks the app claimed were automated.
While this might sound like a joke to some, it’s far from a laughing matter. Albert Saniger, the former CEO of Nate, used this lie to convince investors to pour $40 million into what he claimed was a cutting-edge AI business. According to the indictment, he lied outright. There was absolutely no automation behind the app, despite his repeated claims.
He even misled his own employees, limiting access to Nate’s so-called “automation rate dashboard” to keep the truth hidden. There was never any proprietary AI doing the work. Instead, the entire operation relied on the oldest trick in the book: hiring overseas workers at dirt-cheap wages.
The FBI wasn’t laughing when they uncovered this scheme. According to them, what the former CEO of Nate did was utterly unacceptable. He didn’t just deceive investors; he intentionally stole funds that could have been used to support real AI startups. The FBI has promised to continue investigating this case, as well as any other businesses attempting to employ similar deceptive tactics.
Many internet users who heard the news weren’t surprised at all and even found the situation amusing. With so many companies pushing AI onto customers, it’s no shock that some of them have resorted to lying. “Asian Intelligence,” one user joked when they found out that Nate was actually employing workers from the Philippines.
Others couldn’t help but poke fun at the irony that, instead of AI taking over jobs, this wave of AI companies is actually just people pretending to be AI. Another user pointed out that the situation reminded them of Amazon’s store, where the company allegedly hired workers in India to track customer purchases instead of using true automation. “AI is just short for Actually Indian,” one Redditor quipped.
