KC Green, the creator of the widely recognized internet meme ‘This Is Fine,’ has expressed outrage over its unauthorized use by an AI startup for subway ads promoting sales automation software. Originating from his webcomic Gunshow in 2013, the meme features a cartoon dog calmly declaring that everything is fine despite being surrounded by flames. The company using this image, Artisan, altered it to read ‘My pipeline is on fire,’ adding a call-to-action to ‘Hire Ava the AI BDR.’ Ava represents Artisan’s AI-driven business development representative software.
The news reached Green through social media tagging by Daniel Radosh, an Emmy-winning writer and producer for The Daily Show. Radosh highlighted that there was no approval from Green regarding this usage, calling it a clear case of content theft.
Green publicly criticized the action: ‘I’ve been told about this repeatedly, and I didn’t agree to anything. It’s like AI steals,’ he remarked. He also suggested public defacement of the ads.
Artisan claimed to have great respect for Green and his work, stating they were in contact with him directly. CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack previously noted that their ‘Stop Hiring Humans’ campaign was a mere attention grabber, not an endorsement of AI replacing all human jobs. Despite this, controversy remains central to the company’s marketing approach.
This incident reflects a broader trend where creators see their works appropriated by AI without consent. In February 2025, a similar issue arose when Israeli marketers produced a deepfake video featuring celebrities like Scarlett Johansson and Jerry Seinfeld in anti-Kanye shirts without permission, leading Johansson to voice concerns about the amplification of hate speech through AI.
Additionally, last year, MrBeast discontinued an AI thumbnail tool after creators including Irish YouTuber Jacksepticeye reported unauthorized use of their logos. While artists have pursued legal actions for copyright infringement related to AI training data, Green’s situation differs as Artisan did not train its model on his work but simply altered and displayed it.
Currently, Green is contemplating taking legal action.