Child’s Play, by Sam Kriss
Hacker News
February 20, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
San Francisco’s tech scene has become a battleground between ambitious startups and the people trying to navigate its streets. The city is overrun with ads promoting arcane B2B services, often targeting individuals as if they were all founders or tech wizards. These messages are aggressively alien to most passersby, creating a disconnect between what tech assumes about its audience and the reality of ordinary life in the city.
The article highlights how San Francisco’s public spaces are filled with confusing billboards like “today, SOC 2 is done before your AI girlfriend breaks up with you” and “no one cares about your product. Make them.” These ads reflect a broader cultural shift where tech startups assume everyone is actively building something, even when they’re simply trying to survive or pass time. The contrast between this mindset and the reality of life in the city—where people are often disengaged or struggling—is stark.
One particularly egregious example is Cluely, a startup that was essentially chased out of San Francisco due to its founder’s controversial behavior and the company’s reputation as a manipulative tool for cheating in school. Despite its janky interface and target market of overworked office workers, Cluely became a symbol of the tech world’s ethical blind spots and its tendency to prioritize hype over substance.
This trend matters because it speaks to larger issues within the tech industry: the overemphasis on viral hype, the lack of empathy for everyday users, and the assumption that everyone is a “maker” or entrepreneur. These dynamics not only alienate people but also risk creating a broader disconnect between technology and the lives of ordinary citizens.
The article ultimately raises questions about where tech is heading and whether it can reconcile its ambitions with the messy reality of human life. As startups continue to push their wares, the clash between their aspirations and the lived experiences of those around them will only grow more pronounced.
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Originally published on Hacker News on 2/20/2026