Google withdraws AI Olympics ad after backlash
Despite initially defending the ad as a tool to assist in writing, Google decided to phase it out after negative feedback.
After facing criticism for its portrayal of AI, Google has withdrawn its controversial ad from the Olympics. The ad featured a father using Google’s Gemini AI chatbot to help his daughter write a fan letter to Olympic athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, which many viewers felt undermined the child’s creativity by replacing it with AI-generated text.
Initially, Google defended the ad, asserting that it demonstrated how Gemini could provide a helpful starting point for writing. However, following widespread feedback, the company decided to pull the ad from its rotation. That move highlights ongoing concerns about AI potentially displacing creative jobs, similar to the backlash faced by Apple earlier this year for a similar ad.
The ad’s removal marks a notable misstep for Google, which aims to position Gemini as a key competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and integrate AI across its products. The incident also underscores broader fears about AI’s impact on creative professions.
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