‘This is fine’ creator KC Green says AI startup Artisan stole his art for ad

KC Green, creator of the iconic 'This is fine' comic, has accused AI startup Artisan of stealing his artwork for a subway ad campaign. The ad, spotted in a subway station and shared on Bluesky, features Green's anthropomorphic dog sitting in flames with the altered caption 'My pipeline is on fire' and a prompt to 'Hire Ava the AI BDR.' Green stated on Bluesky that he did not agree to the use and called the ad 'stolen like AI steals,' urging followers to vandalize it. Artisan, which has previously courted controversy with billboards reading 'Stop hiring humans,' told TechCrunch it respects Green's work and is reaching out to him directly. The 'This is fine' comic first appeared in Green's webcomic 'Gunshow' in 2013 and has since become a pervasive meme. Green said he is looking into legal representation but expressed frustration at having to divert time from his creative work to pursue legal action. The incident echoes other cases of artists fighting unauthorized commercial use of their work, such as cartoonist Matt Furie's lawsuit against Infowars over Pepe the Frog, which was eventually settled.