‘This is fine’ creator accuses AI startup of stealing his art
▼ Summary
– KC Green’s “This is fine” comic, featuring a dog smiling in flames, was used by AI startup Artisan in a subway ad without his permission, with the dog’s caption altered to “My pipeline is on fire.”
– Green stated the ad was “stolen like AI steals” and that he did not agree to its use, urging people to vandalize it if seen.
– Artisan responded to TechCrunch by saying they respect Green’s work and are reaching out to him directly.
– The startup has previously faced controversy for ads urging businesses to “Stop hiring humans,” which founder Jaspar Carmichael-Jack clarified was aimed at a category of work.
– Green plans to seek legal representation, expressing frustration at having to divert time from his art to pursue legal action.
You’ve almost certainly seen it before: a cartoon dog sitting calmly in a room engulfed in flames, sipping coffee and declaring, “This is fine.” What started as a single panel in a webcomic has become one of the most recognizable memes of the last decade. Now, the artist behind it says an AI startup has taken his work without permission and turned it into a subway advertisement.
KC Green, the creator of the iconic comic, recently learned that Artisan, an AI sales startup, had adapted his image for a billboard in a transit station. In the altered version, the dog’s speech bubble reads, “[M]y pipeline is on fire,” and an overlaid message urges commuters to “Hire Ava the AI BDR.” Green, responding to a Bluesky post about the ad, said he had been hearing about it from multiple people and that it was “not anything [I] agreed to.” He described the ad as having “been stolen like AI steals,” and urged followers to “please vandalize it if and when you see it.”
When TechCrunch reached out to Artisan for comment, the company initially responded by saying, “We have a lot of respect for KC Green and his work, and we’re reaching out to him directly.” In a follow-up, the company said it had scheduled time to speak with the artist. This is not Artisan’s first brush with controversy: earlier campaigns included billboards telling businesses to “Stop hiring humans,” though founder and CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack later clarified that the message was aimed at “a category of work,” not people in general.
Green’s “This is fine” comic first appeared in his webcomic Gunshow back in 2013. While he hasn’t completely distanced himself from the image , he recently turned it into a game , the meme has long since taken on a life of its own. He is far from the only artist to see his work co-opted in ways he never intended. Other creators have taken legal action when their art was used commercially without permission, such as cartoonist Matt Furie, who sued Infowars for using his character Pepe the Frog in a poster. That case eventually settled.
Now Green says he is “looking into [legal] representation, as I feel I have to.” Still, he admitted the situation is draining. “It takes the wind out of my sails,” he told TechCrunch, explaining that he must now spend time navigating the American court system instead of focusing on what he loves: “drawing comics and stories.” He added a pointed message for the startup: “These no-thought A. I. losers aren’t untouchable and memes just don’t come out of thin air.”
(Source: TechCrunch)
