New Trend: Extreme Hours at AI Startups

Posted4 months agoActive4 months ago

amazonhut

30 points

9 comments

blog.pragmaticengineer.comTechstory

heatednegative

Debate

80/100

AI StartupsWork CultureExploitation

Key topics

AI Startups

Work Culture

Exploitation

The article discusses the trend of extreme working hours at AI startups, with commenters expressing concerns about worker exploitation and the sustainability of such a culture.

Snapshot generated from the HN discussion

Discussion Activity

Moderate engagement

First comment

Peak period

0-12h

Avg / period

4.5

Key moments

01Story posted
Sep 7, 2025 at 5:21 AM EDT
4 months ago
Step 01
02First comment
Sep 7, 2025 at 6:32 AM EDT
1h after posting
Step 02
03Peak activity
8 comments in 0-12h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03
04Latest activity
Sep 12, 2025 at 10:47 AM EDT
4 months ago
Step 04

Generating AI Summary...

Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns

Discussion (9 comments)

Showing 9 comments

ath3nd

4 months ago

1 reply

I thought AI was so good that it helps folks and do their work for them.

I expect these guys to have a lot of free time and be super assisted by the genius level LLMs they are developing.

code_for_monkey

4 months ago

ive been banging this drum and no one has an answer

gherkinnn

4 months ago

1 reply

Got it. Work myself to death so my CEO may become a billionaire based on a vague notion of AGI. Why people willingly do that is beyond me.

The hype is the product and I smell a bubble. Now, how do I turn my cynicism in to money without becoming the people I loathe?

thenanyu

4 months ago

1 reply

Sometimes it’s fun. Especially if you have nothing better to do. When I was 25 I worked crazy hours (12h a day easy) because I loved what I was doing, I was learning at a super high rate, and I still had enough time to go on dates/out with friends etc.

It set up the rest of my career

DaveZale

4 months ago

same here!! And at that age, it keeps us out of trouble. Not a lot of time for dating or other expensive activities ;-)

alexfromapex

4 months ago

This isn't a trend. This is just worker exploitation.

musbemus

4 months ago

May be worth it for founders if you're naturally obsessive about the problem you're solving. No bueno for employees (or anyone with less than say ~5% equity)

gaanbal

4 months ago

do they pay them for every hour they work? I'd be down. but if I'm getting paid for just 40 hours, they can eat my shit

nizbit

4 months ago

Bring back the T-shirts!

https://www.folklore.org/90_Hours_A_Week_And_Loving_It.html

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ID: 45156674Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 5:45:28 PM

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