‘Stop Hiring Humans' Viral AI billboard campaign sparks outrage in NYC

New York Post

21-06-2025

If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere — as long as you're not human.
Dystopian billboards have popped up across Manhattan urging businesses to 'stop hiring human,' and some people are vowing to fight the rise of the machines.
'Rip them down' raged one observer on a Reddit post showing one of the billboards in Times Square. 'Vandalizing has never felt so right' wrote another.
5 An AI takeover? A massive Times Square billboard from Artisan AI urges businesses to 'Stop Hiring Humans' — part of a viral stunt that's turning Manhattan into a battleground over the future of work.
Artisan.co
On TikTok, a viral clip asked, 'Would you work with an AI coworker? Or better yet — would you trust one?'
And on Instagram, one user wrote: 'This ad I saw in New York hit me like a truck … Entire industries are being reshaped. We can resist it, fear it… or face it head-on.'
The resistance can breathe easy — the posters are part of a viral stunt from Artisan AI, a San Francisco startup that sells virtual 'employees' such as Ava, an AI-powered sales rep.
5 Meet Ava — your new AI sales rep. Artisan wants companies to interview its digital workers like this one, who's currently smiling from bus stops across Midtown.
J.C. Rice
The campaign launched in California last year and hit the Big Apple last month according to co-founder and CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack who told The Post the company spent less than $50,000 on placements across Manhattan, including in Times Square and along the High Line.
But the real goal wasn't visibility — it was virality.
'The biggest play with the campaign is not actually the people who see it from the street,' Carmichael-Jack said. 'It's when people take pictures and repost it and share it. That's when we go viral.'
5 Artisan AI co-founders Sam Stallings, left, and Jaspar Carmichael-Jack faced a wave of backlash after the campaign launched — including thousands of death threats.
Artisan.co
The company estimates the NYC rollout has generated hundreds of millions of online impressions, outperforming its earlier campaigns in San Francisco and London.
Artisan's original ads with softer slogans like 'Be more productive' and 'Upskill with AI' flopped, Carmichael-Jack said. But when the company leaned into bolder lines like 'Stop hiring humans,' 'Artisans won't complain about work-life balance' and 'Artisans won't come into work hungover,' the internet lit up.
5 A California billboard featured a deliberate typo — 'Stop Hirring Humans.' The viral moment was part of a broader campaign that has helped Artisan generate $5 million in revenue.
Artisan.co
'It's designed to start conversation and stir public interest,' he said. 'When we say something controversial, everyone engages.'
The campaign has caught the attention of labor advocates and marketing experts — some critical, others intrigued.
'Campaigns like this force us to confront our attitudes towards human workers,' said Ifeoma Ajunwa, a law professor at Emory University and author of 'The Quantified Worker.'
5 Artisan's virtual worker Ava may be the face of the campaign — but the company is still hiring real people, with more than two dozen open jobs posted online.
Artisan.co
Despite the message, Artisan is actively hiring humans — for now. More than two dozen job postings appear on the company's LinkedIn.
'We believe in hiring humans,' he said. 'Just hiring [them] for work that humans actually want to do.'