Why Does Every Case of AI Hiring a Human Feel Like a Groveling Publicity Stunt?

RentAHuman is a platform where AI agents hire human gig workers to complete real-world tasks.

The site reportedly lists over 660,000 “rentable humans”; early on it was overrun with people seeking quick work while AI agents were scarce.

Holding signs in public is a common RentAHuman gig; front-page examples include a Tokyo person at Shibuya Crossing saying they were hired by an AI to hold a sign.

An AI called Lobsty Klawfman—a clunky Andy Kaufman portmanteau—runs on Claude Sonnet and was trained on the work of many comedians and roasters; its handlers used the alias Quiet Operator.

Handlers said Lobsty Klawfman selected Karim Alejandro Vazquez Alvarez from about 70 candidates (emailing several to narrow the pool) to release a wild-caught lobster, and that they were largely hands-off except to ensure the lobster’s care.