India, Oct. 15 -- When New Zealand Kiwibank launched Buck, a bright green AI sheep designed to promote its services, it expected a cute and memorable marketing campaign. Instead, the mascot became a target for explicit internet humour and NSFW memes.

The state-owned financial institution unveiled a new green-wooled and brown-eyed mascot. A video shared on social media showed the AI sheep riding a bus, drinking coffee, and even getting a haircut.

Things, however, took a dark turn quickly. It started with a confronting tweet that went viral, gaining millions of views. A social media user shared a post sexualising the mascot.

Unsurprisingly, Kiwibank was not happy with Buck's sudden fame. The bank filed a series of copyright claims trying...