A company named Abby Connect has launched a worldwide warning about the irresponsible development of – and broken conversation around – AI.
The campaign, which has begun with billboards in San Francisco, is a response to the approach of companies such as Artisan AI – which went viral with its own West Coast adverts urging companies to stop hiring humans and instead adopt autonomous agents.
Abby Connect says its own campaign is also intended to be provocative and designed to expose the risks of reckless AI.
The virtual receptionist service has been built with humans in mind, it says, and has 20 years of operation ‘serving the frontlines of human connection’.
Now it says it has had enough of attention-grabbing headlines touting the removal of humans from the workplace – a narrative it describes as “dangerous”.
The first phase was to send out a shock message designed to stop people in their tracks. Posing as a whistleblower in the AI industry, Abby Connect set up billboards throughout San Francisco stating: “I can’t stay silent any longer” and “Humanity had a good run”.
The intention was to hold up a mirror to public anxieties about AI replacing jobs, purpose and wellbeing, it says. Each ad displayed a URL linking to DearWorld.ai, where people would find an open letter warning people that we are sleepwalking into dystopia.
The second phase was to publicise ‘NurtureOS’ – a fake AI parenting app that purported to raise the optimal child through constant surveillance using smart home technology.
Despite being intentionally absurd, the public response was chilling, Abby Connect says – many believed it was real.
Screenshots and social comments showed just how close society already is to accepting AI replacing caregivers, teachers and emotional guidance.
The third and final phase was to reveal Abby Connect’s actual stance with the message: “Stop Firing Humans. Stop Replacing Humans.”
In revealing its role behind the fake campaigns, it said that it promotes the integration of AI alongside the knowledge and creativity of humans: AI handles speed and efficiency, while humans deliver empathy, nuance and connection.
Nathan Strum, CEO at Abby Connect, said: “This three-tiered campaign wasn’t designed to scare people; it was designed to wake us up. We’ve reached a point where something as absurd as NurtureOS, an app that ‘parents for you’ just doesn’t feel too far off from reality. That’s terrifying.
“At Abby Connect, we’re not just talking about responsible AI, we’re proving what it looks like. While the tech world celebrates replacing humans, we’re investing in upskilling them. Our AI doesn’t replace our receptionists; it empowers them. And that’s what responsible AI should do: lift people up, not push them out.”
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