AI coding startups are using influencer marketing to pitch their services as a path to financial independence, mirroring the economic desperation that has fueled past financial bubbles and multi-level marketing schemes.

What happened: Companies like Replit and Cursor are running influencer-driven ads on platforms like TikTok, portraying their AI coding tools as a way for ordinary people to build software, earn side income, or become financially independent. The ads typically show someone having an idea and prompting it into existence with the tool.

Why it matters: The author draws a parallel to multi-level marketing and the crypto boom of the 2010s, arguing that all three exploit people's economic anxiety and belief that hard work will unlock financial stability. Young people facing a stagnant job market and eroded spending power from inflation are especially vulnerable to the pitch that AI-assisted coding offers an escape from precarity.

What to watch: The author raises practical risks for users: AI-generated code often contains undetected security vulnerabilities, creators may face liability under regulations like GDPR, and Replit's credit-based pricing model could leave users with surprise bills in the hundreds or thousands of dollars if they forget to cap costs—much like an upfront investment in an MLM starter kit.