'Stop Hiring Humans:' AI Startup Shocks Silicon Valley with 'Dystopian' Ad Campaign

In a city grappling with tech layoffs and the looming presence of artificial intelligence, San Francisco-based startup Artisan has launched a provocative billboard campaign that has sparked outrage and heated discussions about the future of work.

SFGate reports that amid the ever-present tension between technology and the workforce, Artisan, a San Francisco-based startup, has stirred up controversy with its provocative billboard campaign. The company, which has just 30 employees and is less than two years old, has plastered the city with advertisements that criticize human workers and promote their AI-powered “sales agent” called Artisan.

The billboards feature a dark-haired, purple-eyed persona and bold statements such as “Stop hiring humans,” “Artisans won’t complain about work-life balance,” and “The era of AI employees is here.” The campaign has drawn sharp criticism from both locals and online commentators, with some calling it a “dystopian nightmare” and others suggesting that the billboards be burned down.

Despite the backlash, Artisan’s CEO, Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, stands by the campaign’s message. In a text message to SFGate, he acknowledged the ads’ “dystopian” tone but argued that it reflects the changing nature of work in the age of AI. “The way the world works is changing,” he said, adding that the billboard campaign has led to a “crazy escalation” in brand awareness and a spike in sales leads for the company.

Artisan’s only existing product is an AI-powered “sales agent” that automates the process of finding and messaging potential customers. The company claims that the tool works with “no human input” and “costs 96% less than hiring someone to do her job.” The use of a feminine pronoun and the decision to give the AI a human name and face, “Ava,” has also raised eyebrows, with some questioning the ethics of humanizing AI while simultaneously promoting the replacement of human workers.

The billboards have struck a nerve in a city already grappling with the impact of tech layoffs and the increasing presence of AI in the workforce. The stark contrast between the ongoing hotel workers’ strike for higher wages and more jobs and the billboards’ message to “Stop hiring humans” has further highlighted the tension between labor and technology.

Artisan’s ambitions extend beyond the sales industry, with the company teasing new AI tools for marketing, recruitment, design, and finance. The video promoting “Ava” even went as far as to declare that the AI “marks the beginning of the next industrial revolution.”