Google’s advertising for the AI Gemini Gets Criticism
Google has been focusing on AI for some time now, and that was also a reaction to Microsoft. But the search engine giant is not really happy with this, as an Olympic-related commercial for the AI assistant Gemini shows.
Gemini: Broken AI instead of liberating
Despite its own early and significant efforts in the field of artificial intelligence, the company from Mountain View, California, was caught off guard by the latest AI revolution and has been lagging behind the trends ever since. The company’s own AI called Gemini was supposed to be a breakthrough, but there were various glitches – including integration into search results. PR is also not going as planned: The company actually wanted to promote its Gemini AI at the Olympic Games and had an idea that puts the 400-meter hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the center. In the 60-second spot, Google tells the story of a girl who has the American track and field star as her role model.
“Dear Sydney”
In the advert entitled “Dear Sydney”, a father says that his daughter absolutely adores McLaughlin-Levrone and is the “number one Sydney fan”. As such, the girl wants to write a fan letter, but firstly, that is not so easy and secondly, she wants it to be perfect. But instead of sitting down and helping his daughter to write, the father turns to Gemini and lets the AI write the letter. The much-criticised Google Gemini advert “Dear Sydney”
The wrath of the Internet followed immediately, as Variety reported: There was enormous criticism on social media, with most complaining that an AI is fundamentally opposed to the idea of a fan letter. After all, it is fundamentally about contact (attempted contact) between two people, i.e. fan and star. Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri even wrote: “Every time I see this ad, I want to hit the TV with a sledgehammer.” Google admitted to the media that it had received a lot of negative feedback for the ad and assured that it was not intended to imply that AI should replace people:
We believe AI can be a great tool to enhance human creativity, but it can never replace it. Our goal was to tell an authentic story about Team USA, about a real track and field enthusiast and her father, and to show how the Gemini app can serve as a starting point, a thought-provoking tool, or a first draft for someone looking for ideas for their text. Google statement
Nevertheless, consequences followed, as Google announced that it would no longer broadcast the ad on television – but it is still available on YouTube and will remain so.
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