Topline
An ad for Google’s Gemini AI tool has been pulled from Olympics broadcasts after critics slammed it as a tone-deaf spot that aimed to replace genuine human interaction with artificial intelligence, despite the company claiming it tested well before airing.
Gemini Ai is seen on an iPad on March 18, 2024 in New York City.
Key Facts
The one-minute “Dear Sydney” ad, which is still available on Google’s YouTube channel though comments have been turned off, stars a father talking about his young daughter idolizing American hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
He calls his daughter, who appears to be about 6 or 7 years old in the ad, “the world’s No. 1 Sydney fan,” and then asks Gemini to help write a letter to the Olympian to tell her “how inspiring she is.”
The ad was hit with immediate backlash from people who said it encouraged artificial intelligence to replace what otherwise could have been a sweet, coming-of-age moment of a child writing a fan letter to her hero with the help of her dad.
Viewers called the ad “ disturbing,” “the worst, saddest, most bummer of a use of AI that I’ve ever heard” and said it “completely negates why someone would write a letter to an athlete or anyone for that matter.”
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Crucial Quote
“This ad makes me want to throw a sledgehammer into the television every time I see it,” Alexandra Petri of The Washington Post wrote. “Personally, I am not a big corporation, but I do not think that a good way of selling your product is to announce that it will suck all the joy out of being alive.”
Key Background
The outrage surrounding the ad comes amid a bigger conversation about the use of artificial intelligence in everyday life. Some have expressed fears AI will replace meaningful work (Hollywood productions ground to a halt for months last year as writers and actors fought to put in place limits on how AI can be used), but others say it’s just the latest tool to enhance human performance and productivity.
Further Reading
Further Viewing
Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes reporter who covers breaking news with a frequent focus on the entertainment industry, streaming, sports news, publishing, pop culture and climate change. She joined Forbes in 2023 and lives in Dallas. She’s covered Netflix’s hottest documentaries, a surge of assaults reported on social media, the most popular books of the year and how climate change stands to impact the way we eat. Roeloffs was included on Editor & Publisher Magazine’s “ 25 Under 30” list in 2023 and worked covering local news in the greater Boston area from 2017 to 2023. She graduated with a double major in political science and journalism from Northeastern University. Follow Roeloffs for continued coverage of streaming wars, pop culture news and trending topics.
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