A Paul Graham AI Advisor Built in a Day Sparks Ethics Debate
Some founders want a Y Combinator co-founder on speed dial. This one built a Paul Graham chatbot in a day.
The 24-Hour Mentor
The creator, a self-described busy founder who “never read” Graham’s essays, used Lovable to spin up paulgraham.resurrect.space. It’s an AI advisor trained on Graham’s public writing, promising startup wisdom without the $50,000 check. “I’ve been able to gather pretty good insights from it,” they wrote on Hacker News.
You’re a big fan but have never read his essays on Startup Advice?
That comment from user bonsai_bar landed with a thud. The creator’s admission of not reading the source material felt like building a Shakespeare bot without cracking a play.
The Creepiness Factor
Reactions ranged from amused to outright hostile. User Nevermark tested its knowledge of Arc, Graham’s current project. The bot dodged: “I’m sorry, I’m having trouble connecting right now.” A little too human.
But the real tension wasn’t technical—it was ethical. “Isn’t this a little creepy?” bonsai_bar continued. “It’s mimicking an identity of someone that you haven’t gotten the permission to do.”
Worse, this is achieving levels of cringe our best scientists previously thought impossible.
User ryandvm wasn’t holding back. The project clearly hit a nerve about AI’s role in identity and influence.
Is This Even Legal?
The comments section turned into a impromptu legal clinic. User vednig argued, “Unethical? Maybe, illegal? No. App clearly states that it is an AI Advisor not a real person.”
Then fragmede fired back: “I am not a lawyer, but most U.S. states (California, where pg resides, is one of them) recognize a ‘right of publicity.’ So, illegal? quite possibly yes.”
It’s a messy, unresolved question. Building a useful tool is one thing. Building a personality without consent is another. This project lives squarely in the gray area between them.
The tech itself is impressive for a day’s work. The ethical wrapper? Still rough around the edges.
Source: HackerNews
