AI App CEO Faces 40 Years for Secretly Using Humans Instead of AI

Previously serving as CEO at Nate, Albert Saniger now faces charges of deceiving investors. The Department of Justice discovered that the AI-based shopping application he led was actually run behind the scenes by a large number of call center staff members.

In the year 2018, Saniger established Nate, a venture that has managed to secure over $40 million from numerous investors, primarily due to the advancement and implementation of Artificial Intelligence within its application.

The Nate app was promoted as a unified digital wallet for shopping online, streamlining the experience by enabling users to bypass checkout on various e-commerce sites with just one tap. It boasted about employing innovative AI technology that would automatically finalize purchases for its users, acting on their behalf.

Yet, it transpired that he had been misrepresenting the product and employing individuals instead, contrary to the initial claims.

CEO used real people to fuel “AI” app

According to an examination conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, it was found out that Saniger procured Artificial Intelligence technology from an external source and subsequently employed programmers to work on it. However, despite these efforts, Saniger failed to develop the capability for its AI system to execute online transactions.

As a dedicated enthusiast, I personally preferred to leverage the assistance of human workers rather than AI for processing transactions discreetly. Similar to Saniger, I initially employed numerous “purchasing assistants” stationed at a call center in the Philippines. Later on, I developed a team of bots to streamline and automate this process.

Following an examination, Albert Saniger faces two charges: one for securities fraud and another for wire fraud. Each charge could potentially result in him serving up to 20 years in prison.

According to FBI Assistant Director Christopher G Raia, it’s claimed that Albert Saniger deceived investors by falsifying information about his company’s supposed artificial intelligence abilities. Meanwhile, he secretly hired staff to maintain the appearance of automated technology functioning within the company.

Apparently, Saniger misused the trust attached to his previous role as CEO by orchestrating a deceptive plan involving illusion and concealment. The FBI is committed to examining any businessperson found guilty of hiding crucial details to induce further investment.

Amazon faced criticism over a resemblance in their “Just Walk Out” technology, which they had been endorsing for several years since 20XX, with the actions that Nate undertook. However, it was discovered that they employed a tactic similar to Nate’s trickery up until 2024.

It was stated by the company that Amazon Fresh shoppers could add items to their cart, and as they exited the store, the store’s technology would generate a bill for them. But upon investigation, it was found that the technology actually required approximately 1000 individuals in India to manually process these orders behind the scenes.

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2025-04-11 22:48