> That is stupid. Which is more likely, that a useful heuristic sometimes misfires or that “our product might kill you” is a clever way to sell it? Death threats are a poor marketing strategy.

To consumers, maybe, but there's also marketing to investors. It seems these companies are more-focused on raising capital, than on becoming beloved by customers. (Though customer-numbers do help when negotiating for investment funds.)

Also, that "or" is false-dichotomy whenever we go beyond the scope of a single advocate. With a group, it's entirely possible for some to be sincerely worried, and the rest to be cynically marketing.