AI firm dismisses senior executive after racist remark triggers backlash: 'Imagine the smell'

Many on social media quickly condemned the remark as derogatory and insensitive.

Nik Pash, who served as head of artificial intelligence at the San Francisco-based tech company Cline, was reportedly removed from his position after a brief comment on social media drew widespread criticism this month. The remark, made under a photograph from a coding event, was interpreted by many users as racially insensitive and ignited a significant controversy online.

The incident began when an X user known as “Taylor” shared an image showing a packed hall of participants at the xAI Hackathon, writing: “A full audience of hardcore builders and engineers at the @xai hackathon!” The photo included a large number of people of Indian and South Asian origin. Under that post, Pash replied with the comment: “Imagine the smell.”

Many on social media quickly condemned the remark as derogatory and insensitive. Critics argued that the comment evoked historical stereotypes about South Asians and was inappropriate coming from a senior executive of a technology firm.

Initially, reactions within the company and on social platforms were mixed. Cline’s founder and chief executive, Saoud Rizwan, who is himself of South Asian descent, posted a defence of Pash. Rizwan said the comment had been misunderstood and was intended as a general joke about how crowded hackathon rooms might smell, rather than a comment about any particular group. He added that Cline was founded at a hackathon that was “quite smelly,” and stressed that he worked closely with Pash daily and believed the remark had been taken out of context.

According to a report in Times of India, Pash also maintained that his comment was not racially motivated, telling followers that his experience of crowded technical events informed his remark and that he had attended several such events in the past. He said he did not intend it as a personal attack and refused to apologise, calling the backlash disproportionate. Reports indicated he even sought an apology from some of his critics.

Despite these explanations, public criticism continued to grow. According to reports, the company ultimately decided that Pash’s refusal to issue a genuine apology did not align with its stated values of respect and inclusivity. Subsequently, Pash was removed from his role at Cline. The decision was confirmed in company statements published on social media, though some posts were later deleted from the official account amid ongoing debate.