A bold poster campaign by San Francisco-based agency Artisan AI has reignited the global debate over machines replacing human workers. The campaign, urging companies to “stop hiring humans”, boldly declared that “the era of AI employees is here.”
The dramatic slogans quickly went viral, sparking public anger and political commentary. While some saw it as clever marketing, many others viewed it as a chilling glimpse into a future dominated by artificial intelligence.
The outrage and backlash
The campaign’s message “hit a nerve” with the public, drawing widespread criticism and condemnation. Social media platforms were flooded with angry reactions as people expressed fear over job security and the growing power of automation.
The controversy soon reached the political stage. Prominent US politician Bernie Sanders questioned who would buy the products capitalism relies on if human jobs disappeared. He warned that replacing workers with robots could collapse the very system that sustains modern economies.
The creator’s explanation: “rage bait”
Following the backlash, Artisan AI’s founder Jaspar Carmichael-Jack stepped forward to clarify the campaign’s intent. He admitted that the “stop hiring humans” posters were not meant to call for the end of human employment.
Instead, he described the campaign as “rage bait”, explaining that it was “designed to get people’s attention” and spark public discussion. Carmichael-Jack insisted that the agency had “no ambition to torch all human workers”, saying the message was purely provocative.
Despite his clarification, the campaign continued to stir anxiety, with many arguing that even as satire, it reflected an uncomfortable truth about the direction in which technology is heading.
Beyond shock value: deeper fears about automation
The Artisan AI campaign emerged at a time when major tech giants—Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon—are pouring billions into artificial intelligence development. Their growing obsession with machines has started worrying people everywhere, especially those fearing for their jobs.
In just one quarter, global spending on AI touched a massive $80 billion. This wave of investment is being seen as both exciting and alarming—exciting because of the promise of innovation, and alarming because many fear it could replace human workers.
Spending that keeps climbing
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, plans to spend at least $91 billion this year, 20 times more than last year on AI processing. Microsoft has already spent $35 billion in the last quarter and admits demand for AI is growing faster than expected.
Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, nearly doubled its spending to $70 billion to improve ads and make social media more engaging. It is also investing heavily in what it calls “superintelligence”—technology that could one day outsmart humans. But not everyone is confident; Meta’s stock recently fell by 11 per cent.
Amazon has joined the race too, planning to spend $125 billion this year to expand its data centres and double its cloud capacity by 2027.
Experts warn of an AI bubble
Many experts worry that companies might be overspending on AI. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said today’s tech giants are different from those during the 1990s dot-com bubble since they’re profitable and using their own funds. Still, the Bank of England has warned that the huge debts taken to build AI infrastructure could cause trouble if the technology fails to deliver.