What do we celebrate when we celebrate startups — progress, or just spectacle? The right answer should be progress, but recent trends in startup culture suggest otherwise. Lately, startups have turned to social media as a tool to spur growth. This makes sense: Social media is the platform of our generation and, in turn, a promising approach to attract prospective investors. But in many cases, this pursuit of attention has overtaken the pursuit of genuine innovation. The leaders of our future technology have to understand that the title of CEO demands professionalism and seriousness, as they have the potential to exert extraordinary influence as we enter this new digital age.
Cluely, a new AI startup founded by 21-year-old Roy Lee — a Columbia dropout — is a prime example of this. Cluely has created hundreds of TikTok and Instagram accounts, flooding people’s feeds with punchy, soundbite videos to maximize brand exposure. The videos border on inappropriate, more concerned with grabbing views than with building trustworthy technology. The performance overshadows the product.
In one video, Lee pretends to be writing math on a whiteboard, only for it to turn out to be a crude drawing of a penis. In the company’s introduction video, the company highlights team members’ accomplishments, which include one member’s high rank in the video game “League of Legends.”
These antics aren’t harmless — they signal immaturity at the wheel behind technology with world-changing consequences. Artificial intelligence is not just another wave of consumer tech. It is poised to restructure entire economies and redefine human life. The choices made by AI companies today will ripple across every sector for decades to come. This immense power means AI isn’t just about entrepreneurship — it’s about stewardship. The people who rise to the top of this industry will hold extraordinary influence. If leaders treat AI like a gimmick to generate viral content, they trivialize responsibilities that could alter the course of history.
By funding startups like this, we funnel unserious people toward the top of an industry that demands the highest seriousness. A 20-something-year-old chasing TikTok clout should not be a leader on the frontier of AI. You may think it’s not that serious — after all Cluely is just a small startup with college-aged founders. However, this is how some of today’s largest companies started. This is the hallmark of the tech industry: dorm room startups can rise to the very top. The industry should shift its paradigm away from the personality-centered, virality-based system that’s currently popular.
Think about AI further down the line — not small startups, but at the international level. AI development is already an arms race between the U.S. and China, one that could very well shape the future trajectory of humanity. The founders we fund today are going to be decision-makers in that race. A future leader in AI should be someone who doesn’t care about virality but instead has a deep passion for the industry and has a drive to act in the interest of society.
Lee himself comes across as far too frivolous to be seen as a leader. His behavior resembles that of a teenager chasing clout more than a founder building a serious company. His personal Instagram account — which is closely tied to Cluely since he reposts its content and even outpaces the company in followers — features him modeling Cluely-branded streetwear as if he were an influencer. In another video, he flashes a trendy designer bracelet to his audience. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this kind of self-promotion, it blurs the line between building a company and building a persona.
It’s no surprise that Gen Z has produced an attention-hungry startup like Cluely. Many of us grew up in an era where ordinary people built lifelong fame through social media. Even at Brown, students have built sizable followings as “college influencers.” While there’s arguably nothing wrong with building a brand on social media, it should be kept out of startups, especially those that have the potential to shape our technological future. Founders need a different way to attract attention, or else startups risk becoming another arm of influencer culture, risking the very innovation they’re supposed to stand for.
Daniel Cheong ’27 can be reached at daniel_cheong@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other columns to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
