Google pulls out Olympics AI Ad following backlash

Companies would often fit their promotions to specific trends.

The most recent example is Google when it released an Olympics AI ad during the athletic event.

Its title is “Dear Sydney,” which shows a young girl’s dad prompting Google’s Gemini AI chatbot to write a letter to her favorite athlete.

READ: France will use AI to monitor Olympics 2024

In response, many criticized the advertisement for promoting reliance on artificial intelligence tools, instead of human creativity.

That is why the company “decided to phase the ad out of our Olympics rotation.”

How did people respond to the Olympics AI ad?

The controversial video involved a girl using an AI chatbot to write to American track-and-field star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. 

“She wants to show Sydney some love and I’m pretty good with words, but this has to be just right,” the girl’s father says in a voiceover.

The idea that a parent would recommend AI to a child, instead of doing the task themselves or helping out rattled many viewers. 

Washington Post staffer Alexandra Petri wrote in her op-ed that the commercial “makes me want to throw a sledgehammer into the television.” 

All of the buffoons excited by the prospect of AI taking over all our writing — report summaries, data surveys, children’s letters, all tossed into the same pile indiscriminately — are missing the point in a spectacular manner,” she pointed out.

“To take away the ability to write for yourself is to take away the ability to think for yourself.” 

Shelly Palmer, professor of advanced media at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, wrote a blog post sharing a similar sentiment.

“I flatly reject the future that Google is advertising… If this approach to communication becomes widespread, it will lead to a monocultural future where we see fewer and fewer examples of original human thoughts.” 

In response, Google clarified the aim of the Olympics Ai ad. “We believe that Ai can be a great tool for enhancing human creativity, but 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 shows how Gemini can provide an early draft for writing.”