Artisan AI: Silicon Valley in Human Form

Recap: Artisan AI, the startup behind the viral “stop hiring humans” billboard, just raised $25 million. And yes, you can see on their careers page that they’re hiring 22 humans currently.

If these guys were any more Silicon Valley, they’d have an office inside a Tesla. 

I mean, come on. Jaspar Carmichael-Jack? Sam Stallings? These aren’t real people. Their names sound like fictional founders from an HBO show.

Their branding is so aggressively ironic, it feels like it was awful on purpose (actually, after a second look, I think it is intentionally cringe – smart!?). That’s the game: manufacture the meme, raise the round, ride the hype.

But the thing is, they’re not wrong to tell us to stop hiring humans then hire more. Stick with me.

This isn’t about replacing every human. It’s about doing more with fewer.

My recruiters are filling 3 times as many roles now. Not because they suddenly got smarter. They were already the best in the market. It’s because they’re using AI to augment themselves. (If you want to see what that looks like, set up a call with me. We’ll fill your roles in 21 days or less.) 

That’s the future. Artisan just said it louder and cringier than everyone else.

Advice:

If you're running a team, don’t wait for AI to replace jobs. Use it to replace the parts of jobs that slow your people down. Look for work that's repetitive, low-trust, and high-volume. That’s where the leverage is.

If you're a candidate, this should scare you a little. If your job is 80% busywork, you’re a target. Learn to prompt, to automate, to output more than you cost. AI won’t replace you. But someone who’s better at using it will.

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