‘This is fine’ creator says AI startup stole his art

‘This is fine’ creator says AI startup stole his art Anthony Ha 1:16 PM PDT · May 3, 2026 You’ve seen this comic before: An anthropomorphic dog sits smiling, surrounded by flames, and says, “This is fine.” It’s become one of the most durable memes of the past decade, and now AI startup Artisan seems to have incorporated it into an ad campaign — an ad for which KC Green, the artist who created the comic, said his art was stolen. A Bluesky post seems to show an ad in a subway station featuring Green’s art, except the dog says, “[M]y pipeline is on fire,” and an overlaid message urges passersby to “Hire Ava the AI BDR.” Quoting that post, Green said he’s “been getting more folks telling me about this” and that “it’s not anything [I] agreed to.” Instead, he said the ad has “been stolen like AI steals,” and he told followers to “please vandalize it if and when you see it.” i've been getting more folks telling me about this and it's not anything i agreed to. it's been stolen like AI steals. please vandalize it if and when you see it. When TechCrunch sent Artisan an email asking about the ad, the company said, “We have a lot of respect for KC Green and his work, and we’re reaching out to him directly.” In a follow-up email, the company said it had scheduled time to speak with him. Artisan has courted controversy with its ads before, specifically with billboards urging businesses to “Stop hiring humans” — although founder and CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack insisted that the message was about “a category of work,” not “humans at large.” “This is fine” first appeared in Green’s webcomic “Gunshow” in 2013, and while he hasn’t disavowed the smiling-melting dog entirely (he recently turned the comic into a game), it’s clearly escaped from his control.  And of course, Green is far from the only artist to see his meme-able art used in ways he finds objectionable. Techcrunch event Meet your next investor or portfolio startup at Disrupt Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $410. Meet your next investor or portfolio startup at Disrupt Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $410. San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 REGISTER NOW But some artists have still taken action when their art is monetized or used in commercial ways without their permission, for example when cartoonist Matt Furie sued right-wing conspiracy theory site Infowars for using his character Pepe the Frog in a poster. (Furie and Infowars eventually settled.) Green told TechCrunch via email that he will be “looking into [legal] representation, as I feel I have to.” Still, he said it “takes the wind out of my sails” that he has to take “time out of my life to try my hand at the American court system instead of putting that back into what I am passionate about, which is drawing comics and stories.” Green added, “These no-thought A.I. losers aren’t untouchable and memes just don’t come out of thin air.” When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence. Anthony Ha Anthony Ha is TechCrunch’s weekend editor. Previously, he worked as a tech reporter at Adweek, a senior editor at VentureBeat, a local government reporter at the Hollister Free Lance, and vice president of content at a VC firm. He lives in New York City. You can contact or verify outreach from Anthony by emailing anthony.ha@techcrunch.com. May 27 Athens, Greece StrictlyVC Athens is up next. Hear unfiltered insights straight from Europe’s tech leaders and connect with the people shaping what’s ahead. Lock in your spot before it’s gone. Most Popular Uber wants to turn its millions of drivers into a sensor grid for self-driving companies Connie Loizos Elon Musk testifies that xAI trained Grok on OpenAI models Tim Fernholz Amazon, Meta join fight to end Google Pay, PhonePe dominance in India Jagmeet Singh On the stand, Elon Musk can’t escape his own tweets Tim Fernholz OpenAI ends Microsoft legal peril over its $50B Amazon deal Julie Bort DeepMind’s David Silver just raised $1.1B to build an AI that learns without human data Anna Heim OpenAI could be making a phone with AI agents replacing apps Ivan Mehta X LinkedIn Facebook Instagram youTube Mastodon Threads Bluesky TechCrunchStaffContact UsAdvertiseCrunchboard JobsSite Map Terms of ServicePrivacy PolicyRSS Terms of UseCode of Conduct AnthropicElon MuskMeta EarningsSatya NadellaMythosTech LayoffsChatGPT © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC.