Google’s controversial Olympic Gemini ad is new reality even if people hate it

If you have tuned in to any part of the Olympics, chances are you’ve seen Google’s Gemini advertisement titled, “Dear Sidney.” In it, a father talks about his daughter’s admiration for track 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 father narrates. “So Gemini, help my daughter write a letter telling Sydney how inspiring she is.”

Google’s campaign to feature its Gemini chatbot on the world stage is coming with a world of backlash. The company even turned off comments for the YouTube video. 

The criticism is not just coming from keyboard warriors. 

Shelly Palmer, a media professor at Syracuse University, wrote a whole blog post about how it makes him want to scream.

“It is one of the most disturbing commercials I’ve ever seen,” he wrote. “Instead of guiding her to use her own words and communicate authentically, he is teaching her to rely on AI for this critical human skill.”

“If you encourage kids to run to AI to spit out words because their writing isn’t great yet, how are they supposed to learn?” NPR Host Linda Holmes posted. “I’m just so grossed out by the entire thing.”

Google has tried to clarify its goal with the ad, saying, “We believe 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.”

The ad does specifically say, “Here’s a draft to get you started.”

For all the cries about the father shirking his responsibilities and the daughter not learning to write, the fact is chatbots are changing the game. People are using them in and out of the workplace and they will certainly transform the workflows of the next generations. 

Remember when teachers used to say, “You aren’t always gonna have a calculator in your pocket.” How’d that work out?

But marketers are walking a tightrope when it comes to selling the technology message without horrifying humans. Look no further than Apple’s face plant with its ad, “Crush!” They meant to highlight how thin their new iPad is. Instead, they showed themselves crushing human creativity.

For the daughter in the Gemini ad who may or may not have used a chatbot to write a fan letter, she could have instead asked Gemini when McLaughlin-Levrone will be competing in the Olympics, in which case, she’d be ready to tune in starting Sunday, Aug. 4.

Update: On Friday, Aug. 2, Axios reported that Google announced it is pulling the ad from its TV rotation. The ad, however, can still be viewed on the company’s YouTube account.

“While the ad tested well before airing, given the feedback, we have decided to phase the ad out of our Olympics rotation,” a Google spokesperson told Axios.