Google Racks Up Boos For ‘Soulless’ Olympics Ad It Thought Would Melt Hearts
Video screenshot via Google
Google sprints, trips, and is now sweating as the public jeers its national television commercial aired at this year’s Olympics. The main sponsor of the Games has been criticized for its Dear Sydney advertisement, meant to promote its Gemini artificial intelligence platform, where a father uses the AI tool to help his daughter pen a letter to her idol, American hurdler and track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
It’s not uncommon for kids to write heartfelt notes to their heroes. However, in the age of AI, this sweet process can be outsourced to machines.
On the one hand, it’s sweet to see a dad and daughter bonding over a shared love of sports. On the other, this encouraged reliance on AI to pen a fan letter has ruffled feathers. So instead of winning over the crowd, the commercial has stirred up a wave of upset, with some even calling it “soulless” and “distasteful.”
So a dad uses AI to write a letter from his daughter to her favorite Olympic athlete? When there is an actual children’s literacy crisis in the US?
— Dawn Chambers’ Anger Translator (@shannboogie) July 28, 2024
Google baby ARE YOU OKAY? pic.twitter.com/5tqk4zJTHJ
Many viewers feel that using these shortcuts for such moments detracts from genuine human connection. Encouraging children to express their thoughts authentically teaches them empathy and emotional intelligence, and relying on AI-generated content to articulate those thoughts can be detrimental for their development. What was meant to be heartwarming now comes across as cold and calculating.
I think we can all agree that the big loser of the #Olympics is the Google Gemini AI ad where they think an AI-written letter is better than a sweet note from a young girl to her favorite athlete.
— Kaitlyn Arford — Freelance Writer (@kaitarford) July 28, 2024
This backlash brings to mind Apple’s tone-deaf Crush advertisement from May, where creative tools were depicted being crushed by an industrial machine in favor of AI.
Exactly. Google didn’t get the message when Apple got all the backlash from Crush https://t.co/dPvDHL8KUq
— david but in survival mode (@Aerocles) July 29, 2024
Google has since disabled comments for its spot on YouTube, though it continues to run on television. A spokesperson for the company has defended the video, emphasizing that AI should only enhance human creativity, not replace it. The representative added that the intention was to authentically celebrate Team USA by showcasing a real-life track enthusiast and her father, while demonstrating how the Gemini app can provide writing ideas.
There's an A.I. ad playing during the Olympics where a dad is talking about how inspiring an athlete is to his daughter so he has A.I. "HELP" WRITE A LETTER FROM THE DAUGHTER TO THE ATHLETE.
— Ben Crew (@BenjaminCrew1) July 27, 2024
Cannot mask how soulless that feels.
my least favorite Olympics ad so far is the one where the Google Gemini AI writes a letter on behalf of a young girl to Sydney McLaughlin. i find that so distasteful and so sad! seems like literally the last thing AI should be used for
— Henry Gargan (@hgargan) July 27, 2024
[via Ad Age, CNN, BroBible, SFGATE, video and cover screenshot via Google]
