AI researcher: in SF, saying 'NASA' gets interest, saying 'autism startup' gets dismissal
IanArawjo · x · 2026-09-18
An AI practitioner describes an informal "A/B test" in San Francisco: telling people he did AI research at NASA made them perk up, while telling them he was building AI communication tools for nonverbal autistic people made their eyes glaze over.
He argues many in SF have become purely transactional and forgotten how to relate to people, that this behavior stems from insecurity, and that the people who do it tend not to be successful. The experience made him hesitate about living in the city.
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