SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Billboards for artificial intelligence startups all over San Francisco have been playfully skirting the edges of the dystopian path down which technology could lead us for some time now. The “Stop Hiring Humans” campaign launched by Artisan AI is a prime example.
Now, a new billboard recently appeared on the corner of 16th Street and Market offering what sounds like an even more terrifying vision of our potential artificial intelligence future.
“The AI does your daughter’s homework. It reads her bedtime stories.” The billboard reads before it takes a darker turn. The painting continues: “He romances her. He deep fakes it. Don’t worry. It’s totally legal.”
The billboard is ostensibly for a company called “Replacement AI.” At first glance, the company’s website, which features a banner reading “Humans Are No Longer Necessary,” looks like any number of AI startups with an infuriating slogan.
The company’s website describes Replacement.AI as “the only honest AI company” and features anti-utopian quotes from real AI luminaries.
“AI will likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there will be great companies,” says Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.
“I think there is a 25% chance that things will go very badly,” said another message from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
The prices are real, but it seems the company is not. Replace.AI is an obvious satire of artificial intelligence through marketing and messaging, and it’s not too far off from what you see from actual AI startups.
In a press release, the company stated that it “does not pretend to aim to empower workers or cure cancer.” Instead, it lists its initiatives that include a safety “plan,” in which users “pinky promise” not to create bioweapons or fake porn, a chatbot for kids “optimized for addiction, delusion, sensuality, and romance,” and a “gift” for artists to thank them for donating their life’s work to training. Master of Laws.
“We’re racing to build a super-AI to replace everyone: teachers, priests, therapists, childhood sweethearts — you name it,” Dan, CEO of Replace.AI, said in the press release. “And that’s worth a few deaths and deepfakes. By keeping us regulation-free, lawmakers are clearly agreeing with us.” “These billboards aren’t just hype; they’re a promise. Humans are weak, somewhat terrible, and largely inefficient – it’s time to move on from them. If you can’t support your family, you should have saved more.”
Dan, the CEO, who has his own X account, appears to be an archetype of his tech brethren created by artificial intelligence.
The company’s website also offers suggestions about future careers for the “post-human” economy, including:
- Extreme homelessness
- Walk around your hideout
- Destruction of barren lands
- Violent crime
- Machine worship
- Longing for a different future
The company does not have any actual employees or job opportunities, according to her LinkedIn pageIt claims its only product is “HUMERT,” a chatbot for kids with features including deepfakes, addiction, and making kids dumber by impairing “critical thinking abilities.”
It may all seem very dark and out of the blue, but the HUMBERT page displays an actual quote from Meta’s internal policy document that says: “It is acceptable to engage a child in romantic or sensual conversations.”
“Whether you’re rushing to the office, walking your dog, or cruising down the sidewalk, Replace.AI is here to remind you: The future doesn’t include you,” the company said in a press release.
Fortunately, if you don’t like this vision of the future, the company has a complaints form, sort of.
After informing you that “Replacement.AI doesn’t have a complaints section, because we don’t care what you think,” the website then displays a prompt to contact your local legislator to urge more regulation in AI development.
KRON4’s attempts to speak with a representative for Replace.AI were unsuccessful.