A contributor reports receiving a surge of outreach emails that mimic a genuine Hacker News peer: they reference a personal detail, occasionally come from an address listed as a startup founder, and give no hint that the note was generated or managed by AI. When replied to, these messages typically reveal one of two deceptions: either they’re AI-driven volume spam used to surface interested candidates for later human follow-up, or there is no real opening and the sender is harvesting résumés to bootstrap or growth-hack an AI recruiting service. Both tactics are intentionally misleading, waste scarce attention during a tough job market, and echo the worst forms of impersonal LinkedIn keyword spam while appearing more authentic.
The writer argues this practice damages trust and communication channels within the community, making people less likely to respond to legitimate opportunities and reflecting poorly on those who run such campaigns. The ethical critique is pointed: leaders and founders should show empathy and honesty, not tactics that exploit peers in their own field. The plea is simple and direct - stop using deceptive, AI-assisted outreach that pretends to be personal when it is not.
Summary generated by AI from the linked article. hn.today is not affiliated with Hacker News or Y Combinator.
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