SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Anyone driving across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco in the past year has likely noticed the surge of AI-themed billboards lining the highway. Among the many provocative ads—some with slogans like “Stop hiring humans”—a new series of even more extreme billboards ap peared earlier this year. The ads, from a company calling itself Replacement AI, feature dark, dystopian taglines. One reads: “AI does your daughter’s homework. Reads her bedtime stories. Romances her. Deepfakes her. Don’t worry. It’s totally legal.” Visitors to the Replacement AI website are greeted with a banner declaring, “Humans are no longer necessary.” 'Stupid. Smelly. Squishy.' Other messaging includes insults like “stupid, smelly, squishy,” alongside the ominous statement: “It’s time for a human solution.” While the tone seems satirical, the site also includes a quote from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: “AI will probably most likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there’ll be great companies.” A dog was abandoned outside Google on Christmas Eve. Then Reddit came to the rescue KRON4 contacted Replacement AI and spoke with someone claiming to be the startup’s “humble unpaid intern,” Chase Hardin. Coincidentally, Hardin shares a name with the communications director for the Future of Life Institute, a nonprofit focused on AI safety. Are they the same person? Possibly—but for this story, we’ll play along. When asked if Replacement AI is real, Hardin insisted it is. “Yeah, absolutely we’re a real AI company,” he said. “We’ve got a website, we’ve got a CEO, we’ve got an HR director. It’s all there in black and white.” 'Hyper-addictive' and designed for children Hardin said the company has three employees: himself, CEO “Dan,” and HR director “Faith.” He described Dan as “a bit of an enigma” and offered a cryptic take on Faith: “I think there are a lot of Faiths out there—HR folks who will gleefully trim back big teams as they hire more AI, convinced the leopard will never eat their face. Even here at Replacement AI, we’re pretty sure that leopard is never going to eat our face.” Photo: Replacement AI The company lists one product on its site: “Humbert,” a chatbot for children that Hardin admitted is designed to be “hyper-addictive.” Pressed on whether marketing an addictive AI chatbot to kids is ethical, Hardin shrugged: “I mean sure, but that’s not really our problem. That’s something parents or maybe lawmakers might want to look into.” This brings us to Replacement AI's "complaints" page. 'You aren't our customers, your bosses' bosses are' Replacement AI’s complaints page greets visitors with: “Psych! Replacement.AI doesn’t have a complaints department, because we don’t care what you think.” It adds: “You aren’t our customers, your bosses’ bosses are. It’s not our job to look after you or your family. We’re just here to make money—and make you obsolete.” The page includes a form to contact legislators about AI safety, something Hardin admitted would hurt the company. “What we’d really love to see is federal preemption of state AI laws,” he said. “Federal preemption is something we have our eyes on, and we’re pretty psyched about that.” Replacement AI even offers career suggestions for those displaced by automation, including “wasteland ravaging,” “violent crime,” “pacing around your bunker,” and “longing for a different future.” “Of course, we’re not going to give them access to our bunker,” Hardin joked. “Space is limited.” 'The punchline is obviously on humanity' Finally, KRON4 asked if the entire Replacement AI concept was satire, meant to highlight the risks of an unregulated AI industry. “If you’re asking me if this is a joke,” Hardin said after a pause, “the punchline is obviously on humanity.” "We take our job of replacing humans in all economically viable work pretty dang seriously," he added, reassuringly. San Francisco, where Replacement AI has five billboards, has proclaimed itself the "AI Capital of the World." ...read more read less