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AI has advanced rapidly in recent years and, for the most part, I’ve been pretty unfazed – until now. A series of dystopian pro-AI billboards are circulating online, promoting artificial employees in place of humans, and they may be the most unintentionally terrifying ads I’ve ever seen.

While billboards must attract passersby with bold visuals and clever copy, these scary ads attract people for all the wrong reasons. As someone already hesitant about AI technology, a female AI robot with laser eyes doesn’t do much to convert me.

Created by AI platform Artisan, these bizarre ads aim to promote the superiority of an AI-powered workforce over human talent. A provocative billboard reads “Stop Hirring Humans Hire Ava, the AI ​​BDR” and features a female AI with glowing laser eyes. While the ad aims to poke fun at human error in a playful way, it falls flat with its bizarre dystopian visuals that depict AI assistants as strange nightmare fuel.

The image was shared with the r/graphic_design subreddit, where users weighed in on the strange ad. “The irony is that we usually want real humans talking to us, not robots, so a typo is a sign of authenticity,” one Reddit user commented, while another claimed: “C “It’s the kind of creativity that only humans possess.”

It turns out the ad is part of Artisan’s broader “Stop Hiring Humans” campaign that has been spotted around San Francisco. Another bold ad showcases the premium “craftsman-powered consolidated software” (aka AI development bots), which has struck a chord with many X users. “It’s the worst kind of dystopian nightmare that has ever never existed in our reality and it’s quite shocking to see,” one user replied, while another added: “It must be satire, right?”

For more AI news, check out what the future of AI means for graphic designers. If you’re looking for slightly less dystopian billboard advertising inspiration, check out the ingenious Tesco billboard which cleverly redesigns its iconic logo.