Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has taken to Twitter to criticize LinkedIn for removing his “pronoun illness” post for the second time. In his share, he said that with this step the platform can remove his post but not his opinion on the matter. The deleted post was a share about the platform removing Agarwal's first post over his opinion about being addressed as “they” instead of “she” in descriptions created by the LinkedIn AI bot.
“Dear LinkedIn, you deleted my post again! This time, since you deleted the entire thread, you didn't even inform me or leave any trace. Luckily my team takes screenshots. You can delete it but you can't delete my opinion. Since you're owned by Microsoft, I'll be sharing my broader thoughts and some actions with everyone tomorrow,” Bhavish Aggarwal wrote. He completed his post with a screenshot of the note created by the LinkedIn AI chatbot.
It all started when Agarwal gave a prompt to the LinkedIn AI chatbot and asked about himself. What the Ola CEO was unhappy with was the pronouns used by the AI bot. This led to him addressing them as “they”, instead of addressing them as “he”. For those unaware, the pronoun “they” is used by people who do not specifically identify with a gender or who wish to keep it a secret.
Take a look at the post here:
Since being shared, the post has been viewed over 6.3 lakh times – and the number is still rising. This share has received around 6,300 likes so far. People reacted to the share and posted various comments.
What did X users say about this post?
“A call to all developers, designers and entrepreneurs: let's turn this into an opportunity. Who is ready to create the LinkedIn that India deserves?” An X user wrote.
“Never thought LinkedIn would stoop so low and not even be able to tolerate criticism,” added another.
“TikTok, LinkedIn. The backlash is growing, and it's not going to stop. Adapt or become obsolete in India. Your choice,” a third joined in.
“Don't just complain, take action. Delete your LinkedIn account. Hit them where it hurts. They are attacking Indian companies,” expressed a fourth.
Bhavish Aggarwal, an IIT Bombay alumnus, is the co-founder and CEO of Ola Cabs. He started his career with Microsoft Research before starting his entrepreneurial journey in 2010, when he returned to Mumbai and co-founded Ola Cabs. Outside of work, he enjoys photography, cycling and playing squash.
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