News
AI · California Labor · Job Displacement · Regulation
San Francisco's AI advertising boom, exemplified by controversial "Stop hiring humans" billboards from Artisan AI, has ignited widespread public anxiety about job displacement, prompting a counter-narrative from companies like Abby Connect and Nooks, and driving California lawmakers to introduce SB 951, a bill requiring 90-day notice for AI-driven layoffs.
The initial "ragebait" campaign by Artisan AI, confirmed by CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack in a 2025 interview with the San Francisco Standard, fueled fears, with a 2025 Reuters/Ipsos poll showing over 70% of adults fear permanent job displacement by AI. Recent layoffs at Bay Area companies like Pinterest and Block, automating work with AI, exacerbate these anxieties.
Advertising professor David McGrane notes other companies, like Abby Connect and Nooks, have "zagged" with campaigns emphasizing human-AI collaboration, such as Abby Connect's "Humanity: Stop firing humans" and Nooks' "AI won't take your job... But someone using Nooks will!
" Linear also uses a "human as divine" message. However, UC Los Angeles professor Ramesh Srinivasan expresses skepticism about new job creation and warns of precarious conditions without government oversight, citing the gig economy's impact on workers despite Proposition 22.
OpenAI and ChatGPT chief Sam Altman, conversely, believes automation creates new industries. California Labor Federation president Lorena Gonzalez supports SB 951, which aims to provide data on AI's impact and worker protections.
Paraeducator Ian Molloy highlights the lack of a social safety net for those displaced.
AI Billboards Fuel Job Anxiety, Regulatory Scrutiny(current)
