Google explains that Dear Sydney, an AI-promoting ad it has just pulled from wide circulation, did well with test audiences before release. The ad features the father of a fan of world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone describing using Google's "Gemini" AI to generate praise for her. If you don't get why this is disturbing, perhaps you're the audience Google had in mind.
Dear Sydney was nicely summed up by TechCrunch's Anthony Ha —"hard to think of anything that communicates heartfelt inspiration less than instructing an AI to tell someone how inspiring they are"—and Alexandra Petri for Washington Post.
This ad makes me want to throw a sledgehammer into the television every time I see it. Given the choice between watching this ad and watching the ad about how I need to be giving money NOW to make certain that dogs do not perish in the snow, I would have to think long and hard. It's one of those ads that makes you think, perhaps evolution was a mistake and our ancestor should never have left the sea. This could be slight hyperbole but only slight!
If you haven't seen this ad, you are leading a blessed existence and I wish to trade places with you.
We Can Feel It for You Wholesale.
When I heard about this spot, my first thought was "tests can't account for how media steers broader audiences." Even a subtle shift in interpretation can make a light-hearted message seem menacing. I can imagine A.I. helping people express themselves and get results in a world full of exclusionary expectations around communications, correspondence and celebrity. But this ain't it. I've watched it now and am left wondering what hardware the test audience ran on.
