You’ve seen this comic before: An anthropomorphic dog sits, surrounded by flames, smiling and saying, “That’s good.”
turned into one the most lasting memories last decade and now AI startup an artist seems to have included it in an ad campaign – an ad for that matter KC GreenThe artist who created the comic said that his art was stolen.
Bluesky script It appears to feature an ad featuring Greene’s art in a subway station, except the dog says “(M)y pipeline is on fire” and an overlapping message urges passers-by to “hire Ava AI BDR.”
Quoting from that article, Green said she says “more and more people are telling me about it” and “it’s not something (I) agree with”. Instead, he said the ad was “stolen like AI steals” and told his followers to “please vandalize it when you see it.”
When TechCrunch emailed Artisan to ask about the ad, the company said, “We have a lot of respect for KC Green and his work, and we’re reaching out to him directly.” In a follow-up email, the company said it had set up a time to speak with him.
Artisan has caused controversy before, especially with its ads billboards urging businesses to ‘Stop Hiring People’ — although founder and CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack insisted the message was about “the category of work” and not “people in general.”
“That’s Good” first appeared in Green’s webcomic “Arms Show” in 2013, and while he hasn’t completely given up the smiling melting dog (recently turned the comic into a game), it is clear escaped from his control. And of course, Greene is far from the only artist to see his memorable art used in ways he objects to.
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But some artists still took action when their art was monetized or used for commercial purposes without their permission, such as when cartoonist Matt Furie sued the right-wing conspiracy theory site Infowars for using the image of Pepe the Frog on a poster. (Furie and Infowars eventually agreed.)
Green told TechCrunch via email that he would “look into (legal) representation as I feel I have to.” Still, it “takes the wind out of my sails,” he said, “that I have to take time out of my life to try my hand at the American judicial system instead of putting it back into the work I’m passionate about, drawing comics and stories.”
Green added: “These mindless AI losers aren’t immune, and memes don’t just appear out of thin air.”
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