KC Green settles with AI startup Artisan over ad use

KC Green, creator of the “This is fine” meme, said he reached an agreement with AI startup Artisan after criticizing the company for using a version of his art to promote its assistant Ava. In Artisan’s bus and subway ads, Green’s dog sat amid flames and declared “My pipeline is on fire,” while the ads urged people to “Hire Ava the AI BDR.”

Green had posted on social media that his art had been “stolen like AI steals” and urged followers to “vandalize” the ads if they saw them. He also said he was frustrated about having to “try my hand at the American court system” instead of putting that time into his comics.

Artisan said it has “a lot of respect for Green and his work,” and founder and CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack announced the two sides had come to an agreement. Green confirmed they’d “reached a settlement pretty quick,” with Artisan taking down the ads in New York and San Francisco that used his character, and Green removing his initial post.

United States, New York, San Francisco

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