'This Is Fine' Creator Says AI Startup Stole His Meme for Subway Ads

KC Green created "This Is Fine" successful 2013 for his webcomic Gunshow. A cartoon canine sits smiling successful a burning country and declares everything is fine. If you’ve spent immoderate magnitude of clip connected the net implicit the past decade, you’ve nary uncertainty seen the meme. But now, an AI startup is utilizing it to merchantability income automation bundle via an advertisement successful a New York subway station. The occupation is cipher asked Green.

The institution is Artisan, champion known for plastering "Stop Hiring Humans" billboards crossed San Francisco and featuring the infamous “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belford connected its ads. In their latest campaign, the dog's code bubble present reads "My pipeline is connected fire," with an overlay urging commuters to "Hire Ava the AI BDR."

Ava is Artisan's AI-powered concern improvement representative—the halfway merchandise of a institution that raised $25 cardinal successful April 2025.

Green recovered retired the mode artists usually find retired these days: idiosyncratic tagged him connected societal media. It was Daniel Radosh, an Emmy-winning Daily Show elder writer and shaper whose upcoming horror-comedy The Big Kill is presently successful production. "There's nary mode KC Green approved this," Radosh wrote connected Bluesky. "Hard to judge an AI institution would conscionable bargain someone's enactment though!"

Green's effect was not nice. "I've been getting much folks telling maine astir this and it's not thing I agreed to," helium wrote. "It's been stolen similar AI steals.”

“Please vandalize it if and erstwhile you spot it."

The station was already vandalized erstwhile Radosh tagged Green.

KC Green said he'd emailed idiosyncratic astatine the institution but didn't expect overmuch of a response. A fewer minutes later, helium muted the thread. The notifications had go overwhelming. "Go to bed, it's late," helium told the pile-on.

Artisan said it has "a batch of respect for KC Green and his work" and was reaching retired to him directly. In a follow-up connection the institution said it had scheduled clip to talk with him.

Artisan's CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack has written that the "Stop Hiring Humans" run was "a provocation" designed to make attention. He besides acknowledged connected the institution blog that the billboard was "mostly conscionable for attention" and that helium doesn't really judge AI volition regenerate each quality workers. The institution has since doubled down connected contention arsenic a selling strategy—and this clip it has a copyright occupation to amusement for it.

This isn't an isolated pattern. The unconsensual usage of AI to bargain creators’ works, images, and IP is simply a increasing inclination that seems acold from ending.

In February 2025, Israeli integer marketers created a viral deepfake video featuring AI-generated likenesses of Scarlett Johansson, Drake, Jerry Seinfeld, Steven Spielberg and others—all wearing anti-Kanye protestation shirts—without immoderate of the celebrities' consent. Johansson condemned it: "The imaginable for hatred code multiplied by A.I. is simply a acold greater menace than immoderate 1 idiosyncratic who takes accountability for it," she said.

Last year, MrBeast pulled an AI thumbnail tool aft creators including Irish YouTuber “Jacksepticeye” recovered their logos and ocular styles utilized without support successful promotional materials. Artists person filed waves of copyright litigation implicit AI grooming data. Green's lawsuit is chiseled from each of those—Artisan didn't bid a exemplary connected his work. They conscionable took the image, tweaked it with AI, and enactment it connected a wall.

Green said helium is considering ineligible action.