In a video that screams April Fools, the controversial AI startup Artisan announced it has appointed an AI as its new CEO, replacing co-founder Jaspar Carmichael-Jack. The stunt, following their infamous “Stop Hiring Humans” billboards lining San Francisco, forces even skeptical R&D professionals to consider the trajectory of AI, moving from task assistant to potential strategic driver.
Beyond the provocative marketing, Artisan AI’s core R&D efforts center on building sophisticated “AI employees,” known as Artisans, designed to automate entire job workflows, not just discrete tasks. Its flagship product, Ava, exemplifies this, functioning as an AI Business Development Representative (BDR). According to the company, Ava autonomously handles complex sequences like researching leads from multiple data sources (including a claimed 300M+ contact database), writing and sending hyper-personalized outreach emails based on dynamic playbooks, managing email deliverability, and even handling initial replies to book meetings. Developing such agents requires significant AI R&D, potentially involving LLMs, natural language processing, behavioral pattern recognition, workflow automation logic, and bespoke integrations within its proprietary consolidated platform. The company has received more than $20 million in funding from investors like Y Combinator, HubSpot Ventures, and Sequoia Capital Scout.
The company amplified the announcement with a cinematic launch video on LinkedIn dramatizing the handover to “Jaspar 2.0,” described as a “hyper-efficient, emotionless, data-maximizing machine” poised to achieve unicorn status rapidly. Artisan’s press materials state this move was inspired by a commenter reacting to its previous controversial ads, who suggested they should “Hire an AI CEO then.”
“While I stand by the message [of the ‘Stop Hiring Humans’ campaign], I understand that the campaign may have been a little ahead of its time,” said Artisan CEO Jaspar Carmichael-Jack. “I got a lot of backlash. People were angry. I got death threats…” he said at one point. “So, I’ve made the difficult decision to step down as CEO of Artisan.”
This self-referential loop, coupled with a new Times Square billboard urging others to “Replace your CEO with AI,” and overwhelmingly amused reactions on LinkedIn commenters labeling it “genius marketing” and a “banger video,” highlights the stunt’s nature.
[Image from Artisan]
