AI Video Startup Faces Backlash After Boasting About Replacing Artists

AI video startup Higgsfield.ai found itself at the center of a social media firestorm this week after a marketing post claiming its tools had "ended" more than 20 creative jobs sparked widespread backlash from artists and creators.

The Controversial Marketing Post

The company's now-deleted X post boasted that its AI motion design tool had put an end to more than 20 creative jobs. The post quickly drew criticism from the very artists who use the platform, many of whom are acutely aware of AI's impact on the creative industry and uncomfortable with their role in potentially displacing human workers.

"Seems like Higgsfield found out today that there are lines they just shouldn't cross in their marketing," wrote Aharon Rabinowitz, CEO of Motion Management. "Celebrating the end of artists' careers (even when their motion design tools are not actually good enough to render anyone unemployed) is just super dumb and shortsighted."

Accusations of Deceptive Practices

Beyond the tone-deaf job loss celebration, Higgsfield faces multiple allegations of unethical business practices:

• Bait and switch marketing: Promising unlimited access to services like Google's Nano Banana Pro, then banning accounts after heavy usage
• Astroturfing: Undisclosed review manipulation to counter negative posts
• Predatory billing: Refusing refunds to customers who have used their services
• Deceptive marketing: Using controversial posts to generate attention, then deleting them
• Intellectual property concerns: Allegedly commissioning customers to create marketing material using unlicensed IP

Technical Issues and Service Limitations

UK-based software tester Ian Hudson revealed that Higgsfield's service is essentially a wrapper for third-party AI services, primarily Google's Nano Banana and Kling for video processing. This architecture creates several problems:

• Throttling delays: User prompts are placed in queues with arbitrary delays before being routed to underlying services
• Limited functionality: Users get only a fraction of what they could achieve by accessing services like Google Gemini directly
• Unreliable performance: Service unavailability, 4-10 hour wait times for five-minute videos, and censorship errors

"Either something's unlimited or it's not, but it turns out it's not unlimited," Hudson explained. "Really you're not getting anything unlimited, you're getting a quick trial of it."

Refund Policy Controversy

Perhaps most contentious is Higgsfield's refund policy, which Hudson describes as fundamentally unfair. The company refuses refunds to anyone who has used their services, meaning customers must determine if the platform works without actually using it.

"The only way you can get a refund is if you don't touch the bleeding thing and work out if it actually works," Hudson said. "And this is where the credit card companies are falling down because they say, 'oh well we've looked at terms and conditions and they're adhering to terms and conditions.'"

Marketing Strategy Under Fire

Hudson criticized Higgsfield's engagement-bait marketing approach, which involves making controversial posts to generate attention and drama, then deleting the evidence. This strategy has drawn comparisons to "rage bait content" and accusations of building a company on controversy rather than substance.

Internet influencer Robert Scoble, speaking with someone behind Higgsfield's influencer network, noted that the company is "trying to capture attention in a world where none of us have any."

Industry Context

The backlash against Higgsfield highlights the growing tension between AI companies and creative professionals. As AI tools become more sophisticated, the debate over their impact on employment and artistic integrity intensifies. Higgsfield's case serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of ethical marketing and transparent business practices in the AI industry.

The company has not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Register, and Menlo Ventures, one of its investors, declined to comment on the controversy.

As AI continues to reshape creative industries, companies must navigate the delicate balance between innovation and responsibility. Higgsfield's experience suggests that celebrating job displacement, even indirectly, is a line that should not be crossed in marketing communications.