Open Source, Locked Exit
The cartoon mocks the tech industry's habit of branding itself as a benevolent force for openness and human progress while hoarding control, weaponizing intellectual property, and discarding workers. The joke is that the company’s grand public 'opening' is literally staged on top of a private shutdo
A single-panel cartoon set in the pristine lobby of a futuristic AI company. In the foreground, smiling executives in branded suits ceremonially cut a ribbon beneath a glowing slogan wall that reads OPEN FOR HUMANITY. They pose for cameras beside a sleek demo kiosk labeled OPEN SOURCE. But the ribbon they are cutting is actually attached to a waist-high barrier guiding employees out of the building. In the background, a line of recently fired workers carrying cardboard boxes shuffles through a turnstile stamped ACCESS REVOKED, while a security scanner flashes red. The back wall is split visually: one half covered in inspirational phrases about democratizing intelligence, the other packed with framed patents, NDAs, legal threat notices, and restricted-access signs. A few of the applauding staff realize too late that their own ID badges no longer work.