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Google has withdrawn an ad featuring its AI chatbot Gemini from airing during the Olympics following backlash over its portrayal of artificial intelligence in creative tasks.
The ad, titled “Dear Sydney,” depicted a father asking Gemini to help his daughter write a fan letter to U.S. hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. The commercial showed the chatbot drafting the letter before closing with footage of the girl running on the track, accompanied by the text “A little help from Gemini.”
While the ad remains available on YouTube, it has been pulled from television broadcasts where it was prominently featured during the early days of the Games. A Google spokesperson explained that despite the ad’s positive initial testing, the decision was made to remove it in response to public feedback.
The spokesperson emphasized that while Google views Gemini as a tool to assist with writing, it cannot replace human creativity. “Our goal was to create an authentic story celebrating Team USA,” the statement read.
Criticism of the ad focused on concerns about promoting AI as a replacement for genuine human creativity, particularly in contexts involving children. Shelly Palmer, a professor of advanced media at Syracuse University, argued that the ad represented a troubling vision of a future where original human thoughts are increasingly sidelined.
Google joins other tech companies in facing scrutiny over ads that appear to endorse AI over human creativity. Apple, for example, recently apologized and withdrew an ad that featured a hydraulic press crushing musical instruments and paint cans to promote its new iPad Pro after facing similar criticism.
OpenAI’s Mira Murati has acknowledged that while AI might displace some creative jobs, it also highlights the need to reassess which roles are truly valuable. The debate continues amid broader discussions about the impact of AI on various industries, including recent controversies over the use of AI-generated content and voice replication.