Google’s “Dear Sydney” ad for the ongoing Olympics 2024 has triggered several internet users, and seemingly for valid reasons. The advertisement is intended to promote the search giant’s Gemini Gen AI but seems to send a very wrong message to young minds.
Why did Google’s Olympics Ad offend some people?
Google is actively promoting its Gemini Generative AI engine. The search giant has been aggressively infusing it in multiple web platforms such as Workspace, Gmail, Docs, and more.
As part of its marketing efforts, Google put out a video ad to promote Gemini. The TV ad, which played during ad breaks from the Olympics, shows a father and daughter discussing the child’s love and admiration for American Olympic track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
The ad shows the young daughter training to compete like her hero. Gemini AI suggests ways to improve the child’s training and fitness. Thereafter, the father seeks Gemini’s help for his daughter to write a fan letter to Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone by typing the following prompt:
“Help my daughter write a letter telling Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone how inspiring she is and be sure to mention that my daughter plans on breaking her world record… one day. (She says sorry, not sorry.)”
The ad demonstrates Gemini’s growing ability to understand queries and requests as if it were a personal assistant. Moreover, it showcases how Gen AI can generate text which appears to increasingly resemble content generated by humans.
The Google commercial where the dad has his daughter use AI to construct a note to her favorite athlete rather than encourage her to write what she actually wants to tell her hero takes a little chunk out of my soul every time I see it.
— Will Leitch (@williamfleitch) July 28, 2024
While there’s nothing wrong about relying on Gemini, the ad reportedly implies children would only need to type out a prompt to get meaningful content auto-generated for them. The ad doesn’t encourage children to write a note and express their feelings and emotions. Instead, the promotional message suggests parents ask Gen AI to compile an entire note.
Gen AI is a double-edged sword, fears netizens
A Google spokesperson has reportedly responded with a statement that states the company believes “that AI can be a great tool for enhancing human creativity, but can never replace it.”
“Our goal was to create an authentic story celebrating Team USA. It showcases a real-life track enthusiast and her father, and aims to show how the Gemini app can provide a starting point, thought starter, or early draft for someone looking for ideas for their writing.”
Google Olympics Ad Touting AI Is Exact Opposite Of How We Should Teach Our Students To Use It https://t.co/8exhroJca2
— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) July 28, 2024
Needless to say, Google appears to have missed the mark by a mile with the latest Olympics ad. Instead of spurring creativity, the ad suggests Gen AI can take over the entire process. In other words, Google implied Gen AI isn’t a starting point but the entire journey devoid of thinking and learning for humans.
Apple recently faced a similar backlash for crushing technology associated with creativity and joy. The iPhone maker apologized and stated that it merely intended to highlight the new iPad and promote how exceptionally thin it is.