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Freeman [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/12/ai-company-trolls-san-francisco-with-billboards-saying-stop-hiring-humans/ [arstechnica.com]

Since the dawn of the generative AI era a few years ago, the march of technology—toward what tech companies hope will replace human intellectual labor [arstechnica.com]—has continuously sparked angst [arstechnica.com] about the future role humans will play in the job market. Will we all be replaced by machines?

A Y-Combinator-backed company called Artisan [artisan.co], which sells customer service and sales workflow software, recently launched a provocative billboard campaign in San Francisco playing on that angst, reports Gizmodo [gizmodo.com].
[...]
Artisan CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack defended the campaign's messaging in an interview with SFGate [sfgate.com]. "They are somewhat dystopian, but so is AI," he told the outlet in a text message. "The way the world works is changing." In another message he wrote, "We wanted something that would draw eyes—you don't draw eyes with boring messaging."
[...]
Meanwhile, the billboards remain visible throughout San Francisco, quietly fueling existential dread in a city that has already seen a great deal of tension since the pandemic. Some of the billboards feature additional messages, like "Hire Artisans, not humans," and one that plays on angst over remote work: "Artisan's Zoom cameras will never 'not be working' today."

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