"AI" coding chatbot funded by Microsoft were Actually Indians

[erronis]

https://www.osnews.com/story/142488/ai-coding-chatbot-funded-by-microsoft-were-actually-indians/
Thom Holwerda

(Note: I have no idea which forum these go into - the DU structure seems a bit rigid. And the title was supplied by the author, not me, so the indelicacy of the wording is not mine.)

London-based Builder.ai, once valued at $1.5 billion and backed by Microsoft and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, has filed for bankruptcy after reports that its “AI-powered” app development platform was actually operated by Indian engineers, said to be around 700 of them, pretending to be artificial intelligence.

The startup, which raised over $445 million from investors including Microsoft and the Qatar Investment Authority, promised to make software development “as easy as ordering pizza” through its AI assistant “Natasha.” However, as per the reports, the company’s technology was largely smoke and mirrors, human developers in India manually wrote code based on customer requests while the company marketed their work as AI-generated output.
↫ The Times of India

I hope those 700 engineers manage to get something out of this, but I doubt it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were unaware they were part of the “AI” scam.

[John1956PA]

1. In the age of autotune and other fakes, a fake of a fake is to be expected.

[highplainsdem]

2. Generative AI tools can respond (often with an incorrect answer) literally within seconds. There's no way

those software engineers responded in typical AI time. I'm surprised they were able to fool anyone. Otoh, the software engineers probably delivered MUCH better code.

[SheltieLover]

3. Agreed!

[erronis]

4. I wonder if the interface didn't show spinning wheels and messages of encouragement

as the "AI" engines were running in their squirrel cages.

[highplainsdem]

5. I don't think anyone familiar with AI would fall for that.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. The odd thing is that the "uses Indian programmers" scam was exposed in 2019

and yet groups (including Microsoft?) were still investing in it in 2023:

Between 2018 and 2023, Builder.ai secured an impressive $445 million in VC funding. Backers included high-profile investors like Microsoft and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

Microsoft’s involvement elevated the company to unicorn status, with Builder.ai securing a valuation of $1.5bn in 2023, as well as global recognition as a leading AI innovator.
...
A 2019 report in the Wall Street Journal burst Builder.ai’s (then known as Engineer.ai) bubble by debunking its claims to use AI for software development. It turned out that the app was largely powered by an assembly line of human developers in India, responding to user requests in real-time. The promise of AI-powered app development was a gimmick.

This revelation, combined with claims of fake customer reviews and logos of companies they hadn’t worked with advertised on their site, left a stain on Builder.ai’s reputation.

https://startups.co.uk/news/builder-ai-collapse/

In 2019, I suspect people didn't expect a quick reply from "AI" for programming.