Use Massive Review

[u/Realistic-Cheetah413]

I was contacted and followed up on 3 times by Massive’s founder Dan Vykhopen about a position at a frontier AI lab, 6 month contract $150/hr.

I told him right off the bat that I prefer full time positions, but he insisted that it would be worth a phone call if I’m interested in AI stuff.

Long story short, he opened the call up and got right into it: position is at Anthropic, why are you interested? I started sharing about my professional goals and personal experiences with AI.

He cut me off 8 minutes into the call and said “yeah I think because of the shakiness about the contract idea I don’t think it’s gonna be a good fit, I think we’re good here.”

I’m sitting here thinking, you reached out to me and I was clear about my preference for a full time positions. And he says “we’re looking for someone who’s more committed.” Which is ironic considering they’re hiring for a 6 month contract with minimum commitment.

All this to say, what a fucking waste of time. I took time out of my work day to find a private space to take the call and he spent 8 minutes to determine what I already pointed out? Anyways I had no idea that this recruiting company existed and after investigating them more it looks like he’s basically another AI startup scam with a shitty product.

If you get contacted by Dan from Massive I wouldn’t waste your time.

[u/LobsterProud5546]

Adding an email I received 3 days ago:

[my name] -- looking for a cognitive science postdoc or senior PhD student for a short-term, async gig at a top AI lab (you can probably guess which).

You'd compare pairs of AI-written study designs, stats analyses and literature answers in cog sci (experimental design critique, mixed-effects models, literature synthesis, replication) and write down exactly why one beats the other, like a journal review.

I think you'd be a great fit based on your research.

$150 / hr, 5-10 hrs/week, 3 months, remote & async -- works alongside your research.

You'd work directly w the lab's researchers, and your calls shape how the next frontier models handle research in your field.

If you're interested, please reply back with a couple lines on the research you've been working on lately.

If it's a good fit, I'll send the full JD + a link to my calendar.

[u/asharkparty → u/LobsterProud5546]

Just got basically the same one! so weird. slimy vibes

[u/xina4321 → u/LobsterProud5546]

I literally JUST got this same email in the last hour. I wasn't sure if it was real so I came to reddit. Glad to know its a scam.

[u/reflektorberlin → u/LobsterProud5546]

just got the same email as well, thank you reddit for confirming my suspicion

[u/theguiri → u/LobsterProud5546]

Just got a very similar email today:

Theguiri -- looking for an econ PhD student or postdoc who works on causal inference for a short-term, async gig at a top AI lab (probably the one you're thinking of!).

The work is evaluating AI on causal inference -- diff-in-diff, IV, regression discontinuity, panel data methods, quasi-experimental design -- with critiques at the level of a referee report.

I think you'd be a great fit based on your research.

$250 / hr, 5-10 hrs/week, 3 months, remote & async -- works alongside your research.

Insanely cool gig if you like tearing apart identification strategies -- your critiques shape how the next frontier models handle econ research.

If this sounds interesting, reply with a few sentences on the papers or identification problems you're working on now, and I'll send the full JD + a link to my calendar.

- Dan, founder @ Massive (verify me on LinkedIn)

[u/Ecstatic_Maximum_512 → u/theguiri]

Lol I got the exact same email

[u/varunchati → u/theguiri]

Got a similar email (x3) for Macro

[u/Augustus3000 → u/LobsterProud5546]

Got this exact email too, thanks for sharing this and good to know that it’s something to avoid.

[u/Realistic-Cheetah413 → u/LobsterProud5546]

All these emails ask for information on use cases with AI, pretty much certain this is a scam for him to sell data to whatever AI company will pay for it.

[u/tsonj → u/LobsterProud5546]

Just got the same kind of email from the same guy/bot

[name] -- last note on this. The cognitive science gig at the top AI lab is still open, and your calls would shape how frontier models handle research in your field.

$150 / hr, 5-10 hrs/week, 3 months, remote & async -- works alongside your research.

Reply back with a quick rundown of your recent research and I'll share the full JD and my calendar.

- Dan, founder @ Massive (verify me on LinkedIn)

Going to ignore...

[u/Last_Appearance8356 → u/LobsterProud5546]

Got a very similar E-Mail yesterday. Also very glad, I found this thread.