Latest news with #Artisans
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
AI company's offputting ads declare ‘Stop Hiring Humans'
By Jake Meeus-Jones Commuters fear losing their jobs after an artificial intelligence company launched "gross" billboards around London, encouraging companies to "stop hiring humans." Artisan, an AI startup founded in 2023, recently acquired $25M in funding in its quest to build a company powered by AI-employees called Artisans. Their viral billboard campaigns have been seen across US cities and they have now popped up around the London Underground. The head-turning billboards have not gone down well with many who work in the industry, though some say they are "well-staged." Another of the billboards shows an AI employee front and centre with text that reads 'Artisans won't WFH in Ibiza next week', causing outrage. Jamie Vaughan, a managing director at marketing firm Signifly, said in a LinkedIn post that he believes these ads are "everything that's wrong with the current tech discourse around AI and work." He added in the post: "Here's a company literally advertising the elimination of human collaboration and creativity - the very things that make work meaningful and productive. "The idea that we should celebrate replacing 'artisans' (actual skilled humans) with AI "employees" is antithetical to everything I believe about business success. "Real innovation comes from humans working together, challenging each other, and building on each other's ideas. "It is also entirely possible for great work to be done from home or remotely. "We should be using AI to enhance human creativity and collaboration, not replace it entirely. "Hard pass on this dystopian vision of work." In response, many LinkedIn users disagreed with Jamie's post and claimed that their campaign had worked. One user said, "Yet, it triggered you. Well-staged ad by Artisan." A co-founder of a customer experience agency added: "This is the exact reaction they want!!! I'd argue the ad is doing exactly what it's intended to do…get the humanoids worked up on LinkedIn." A third said: "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about - you're only helping them." A fourth reluctantly said, "Actually gross. But sadly, it did its job." But many felt the idea of 'any attention is still attention' has been pushed too far with this campaign. A senior product designer said: "I know some people agree with 'negative attention is still attention', but this is a personal and professional pet peeve of mine - is the hate worth it? "I would rather be talked about the good work we are doing rather than counting on rage bait…" Another added: "While provocative, rage baiting seems to have worked every time on a lot of posts here, but in all honesty, is it worth the risk?" The post AI company's offputting ads declare 'Stop Hiring Humans' appeared first on Talker. Copyright Talker News. All Rights Reserved.
Metro
2 days ago
- Business
- Metro
The real reason behind 'Stop Hiring Humans' ads appearing on the Tube
Staring mindlessly at adverts on the London Underground as your train whizzes from station to station is a common occurrence for commuters in the capital. But a new advertising campaign which recently arrived on the Tube is getting much more attention – possibly for the wrong reasons. The posters, found in London Bridge as well as other parts of the network, are suggesting in large letters that businesses should 'hire artisans, not humans', adding that 'the era of AI employees is here'. Slogans on other posters include 'Artisans don't spend half the year on holiday' or 'Artisans don't 'WFH' from Ibiza'. They're the brainchild of Artisan, an AI company which started in Silicon Valley in 2023 and has since received $25million (£18million) in funding. The business aims to build a company powered by AI employees called Artisans – but their advertising campaign has proved controversial, with its CEO facing death threats and hate mail. 'Stop hiring humans' posters and billboards first started popping up in San Francisco last December, coinciding with Artisan appearing at TechCrunch Disrupt, an annual tech conference. It quickly went viral, with an X post about its deliberately misspelt 'stop hirring humans' billboard being seen more than 230,000 times. Artisan CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, who's originally from Surrey, said he and the company had received thousands of death threats since the campaign launched. After hosting an unofficial 'ask me anything' Q&A session on Reddit, he received a swathe of comments, very few of which were positive in any way. These included one simply saying 'Oh hi, f*** you', another asking 'Why doesn't the company replace you with AI?', a third saying 'How does it feel to be the poster child of a dystopic future?', and another asking 'You realise you're the villain, right?'. But last month, Jaspar doubled down on the 'rage-bait' marketing campaign, despite the thousands of threats he'd received. He has however since backtracked slightly on his previous message, saying the campaign was meant to grab attention rather than undermining human workers. 'We didn't expect people to get so mad,' Jaspar said in a blog post. 'The goal of the campaign was always to rage bait, but we never expected the level of backlash we ended up seeing. 'Looking forward, we'll likely tone down the messaging to be more in line with what we actually believe rather than just clickbaiting..! More Trending We don't actually want people to stop hiring humans – we're actively hiring across all roles, and I don't actually think AI is dystopian. 'The real goal for us is to automate the work that humans don't enjoy, and to make every job more human. 'Nobody wants to spend 8 hours a day researching people and writing outbound emails, so we built Ava to do it for them.' Metro has reached out to Jaspar Carmichael-Jack for comment Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: 'Stupid' Apple Pay prank plagues commuters on London Tube MORE: King Charles serenaded by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding singers at SXSW London MORE: Fare dodger barges his way through barriers – and straight into arms of police
Eater
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
The Saddest Houston Restaurant Closings to Know This June
Houston is entering its summer season, and while there are many anticipated and new restaurants, there are just as many closing. Owners continue to cite a challenging economy as the reason behind their closures, while others are still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Beryl and last year's other weather disasters. Here are some of the most noteworthy and heartbreaking closings this month. The list is by no means comprehensive. Have information on another closing? Send all tips to houston@ Bistro Menil Chef Greg Martin, the owner behind Bistro Menil, announced on social media that he is closing the French restaurant in Montrose after service on Sunday, June 22. Martin opened the restaurant roughly 10 years ago, naming it after the Menil Collection, one of Houston's most lauded museums. Many diners, especially those who are gluten-sensitive or have celiac disease, have lamented the closure. 'The Celiac and gluten free [sic] community need you,' said one diner on Facebook. 'The 2 celiacs in our family shall miss this safe space to dine, have dessert and never ever experienced [sic] cross contamination,' wrote another. Martin did not immediately respond to Eater's request for comment, but said in his post that it was 'time to conclude this chapter.' He thanked Houstonians in his post for their 'unwavering support' throughout the years. Houston's French restaurant scene has experienced a series of tough blows over the past year, with restaurants like PS-21 and Eau Tour closing. But there have been some wins, too. More modern French restaurants fused with Houston-friendly and global flavors (think Creole and 'Texan'), however, have emerged on the scene, including chef Aaron Bludorn's Perseid, which opened in Hotel Saint Augustine in January, and Chardon in the Thompson Hotel. Both have seemed well-received by Houston diners. Artisans Jacques Fox, the chef-owner of Artisans, shocked Houston diners when he announced on Thursday, May 29, that he was closing the French restaurant that same day after 14 years in business. The restaurant originally opened in Midtown in February 2012 and later relocated to the greater Uptown area on Westheimer Road in December 2023, serving what Fox described as 'innovative, eclectic French cuisine.' Fox thanked Artisans' loyal customers, suppliers, partners, and staff. 'This is a difficult farewell for me and my investors, but we will always treasure the memories and experiences created at Artisans,' he wrote. Fox did not explain the reason for the closure, but he's expressed to Eater in the past that the changing dynamics of the dining scene, particularly in Houston, had become challenging. He said he mourned the days when people truly spent time dining and enjoying a meal. Leisurely lunches, particularly after the pandemic, had become a thing of the past, which led to restaurants strategizing ways to draw them in with power lunches and prix fixe meals. Thai Village Rice Village recently lost an institution and one of its longstanding Thai restaurants on Saturday, May 31. The owners of Thai Village announced the closure in a release shared on Facebook, thanking customers for their support. The restaurant, with its bright neon sign, served up a menu of Thai classics, including crispy egg rolls, soft spring rolls, fried rice, curries, and stir-fries. Rudi Lechner's Restaurant Rudi Lechner's Restaurant in Westchase, one of Houston's only German restaurants, closed in May after nearly 50 years in business, according to a report. The initial owner, Rudi Lechner, opened the restaurant in 1976 but sold it a few years ago after retiring. Jay Luchun, owner of nearby events venue Chateau Crystale, purchased the restaurant from him and kept everything largely the same, including the staff. He told Westchase Today he felt a responsibility to Rudi's loyal workers. Sixes and Sevens Montrose bar Sixes and Sevens went out with a bang on Sunday, May 25, hosting a final party to say its goodbyes after five years in business. Owner Blake Harris, who also owns Rudyards and Gold Tooth Tony's, told the Houston Chronicle that the closure is due to high competition in the area. He's hinted at possibly opening something in its place. Sign up for our newsletter.
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Cultural Fund Showcases Saudi Handicrafts at Selfridges in London
The Cultural Development Fund unveiled a curated selection of Saudi handicrafts at Selfridges in London, offering international audiences a window into the Kingdom's rich artisanal heritage, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday. The exhibit, inspired by Saudi Arabia's diverse geography and urban character, aims to highlight the creative and economic value of national crafts. Part of the fund's broader efforts under the Year of Crafts 2025, the display will run throughout June in a dedicated section of the iconic department store. The space is designed to reflect Saudi cultural identity, incorporating lavender and clay motifs as symbols of the Kingdom's natural and architectural heritage. Visitors are introduced to the aesthetics of Saudi crafts, reimagined through a modern creative lens. The collection includes palm-weaving, leather goods, and handcrafted jewelry, all created by male and female artisans from across the Kingdom. Each piece reflects the cultural and regional diversity of Saudi craftsmanship, emphasizing both traditional techniques and contemporary design.
Forbes
09-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Artisan Raises $25M To Replace Repetitive Work With AI Employees
"Stop Hiring Humans" billboard campaign Artisan, the YC-backed startup behind viral campaigns and AI-powered employees known as Artisans, today announced a $25 million Series A led by Glade Brook Capital, a $2 billion global growth equity firm with a portfolio that includes xAI, Perplexity, Stripe, Revolut, SpaceX, Airbnb, and Uber. The funding follows the breakout success of its 'Stop Hiring Humans' billboard campaign, which generated over 1 billion online impressions and introduced the world to Ava—the company's flagship AI BDR now hired by more than 250 organizations. Additional investors in the round include Y Combinator, Day One Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, Oliver Jung, Fellows Fund, and others. Founded in 2023 by Jaspar Carmichael-Jack and Samantha Stallings, Artisan is building the next paradigm of software: a sleek, unified platform powered by AI employees, Artisans. Its flagship Artisan, Ava, automates outbound sales, replacing repetitive prospecting work with a smarter, fully autonomous system. The company is focused on two core goals: - Advancing AI employees from human-assisted to fully autonomous, capable of managing complex workflows with minimal oversight. - Consolidating the fragmented SaaS landscape into one intuitive platform, starting with outbound sales. 'Let's be honest, most companies waste millions paying talented people to do repetitive work that AI can handle better.' said Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, the 23-year-old co-founder and CEO of Artisan. 'Having brilliant minds stuck prospecting, personalizing emails, and tracking deliverability is a waste of human potential.' Ava is powered by Artisan's proprietary AI infrastructure: a model-agnostic, multi-agent system that handles each stage of outbound—from targeting and researching to writing and sending. Her real-time context engine scrapes the web for buying signals such as leadership changes, job postings, and funding announcements to ensure outreach is perfectly timed. Enterprise fintech company SumUp is one of hundreds of customers using Ava to scale outreach. By leveraging Artisan's unique local business targeting, integrating data from Google Maps, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Google Reviews, SumUp receives 8–15 positive responses per week from previously unreachable local SMBs. 'At SumUp, we prioritize efficient and scalable growth,' said Karlo Buik, Growth Lead at SumUp. 'Artisan's platform streamlines our outreach and gives us the insights we need to reach the right businesses in meaningful ways.' As part of its mission to create real value—not vanity metrics—Artisan is piloting a new success-based pricing model through a partnership with the platform founded by Manny Medina, co-founder and former CEO of Outreach. 'We don't want to charge customers unless we're actually creating outcomes,' said Carmichael-Jack. 'Our north star is impact. If Ava is generating real conversations, booked meetings, or pipeline—that's when we should get paid.' Unlike traditional tools, Artisan is pioneering intent-driven outbound with advanced capabilities that allow Ava to engage prospects at exactly the right moment: 'Outbound the way it's done today is going to stop working,' said Carmichael-Jack. 'We're building products that make AI more intent-driven and, ironically, more human—so humans can focus on the things they're uniquely great at.' To accelerate product development, Artisan has appointed Ming Li as Chief Technology Officer. Li previously served as VP of Technology at unicorn Deel, and has led engineering teams at Rippling, TikTok, and Google. He joins alongside four senior engineers from Rippling, significantly expanding Artisan's technical depth as it scales its platform and expands into new product categories. Following Ava's success, Artisan plans to launch two new AI employees by the end of 2025: Aaron, an Inbound SDR Artisan, and Aria, a Meeting Assistant Artisan. Both will operate within the Artisan Sales ecosystem. 'We're building the full go-to-market ecosystem,' said Jaspar. 'One platform with every core product across sales, marketing, and customer success–powered by Artisans doing the work AI does best, and seamless software enabling humans to do theirs. Moving chronologically down the sales cycle, we're taking on each legacy category-leading SaaS player one by one.' As AI continues to reshape the future of work, Artisan is betting that the next generation of enterprise software won't just support human workflows—it will replace them where it makes sense. By automating the most repetitive, time-consuming tasks with intelligent, autonomous AI employees, Artisan is redefining what productivity looks like for go-to-market teams.
