Artist KC Green says AI startup Artisan used his meme art in ads

In short: KC Green, the artist behind the “This is fine” comic, says AI startup Artisan used his art in an ad without permission.

What happened

KC Green created the well-known “This is fine” comic in 2013. It shows a smiling dog sitting in a room on fire, and it became a widely shared meme.

A post on Bluesky, a social network similar to X, showed an ad in a subway station that appears to use Green’s dog image. In the ad, the dog’s words are changed to “My pipeline is on fire,” and the ad urges people to “Hire Ava the AI BDR.” (A BDR is a sales role that tries to find new customers.)

Green responded on Bluesky saying the ad was not approved by him. He said his art was “stolen,” and he told followers to vandalize the ad if they see it.

TechCrunch contacted Artisan about the ad. The company replied that it respects Green and is reaching out to him directly. Artisan later said it had scheduled time to speak with him.

The dispute comes as Artisan has drawn attention for other ads, including billboards telling businesses to “Stop hiring humans.” The company’s CEO has said that message was aimed at certain types of work, not people in general.

Why it matters

This is another example of a common problem for artists, where popular images get used in marketing without clear permission. For regular people, it is a reminder that memes can feel “public,” but the original art still belongs to someone, like a photo you took that others cannot legally use in an ad.

Source: TechCrunch AI