this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2024
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If you've watched any Olympics coverage this week, you've likely been confronted with an ad for Google's Gemini AI called "Dear Sydney." In it, a proud father seeks help writing a letter on behalf of his daughter, who is an aspiring runner and superfan of world-record-holding hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

"I'm pretty good with words, but this has to be just right," the father intones before asking Gemini to "Help my daughter write a letter telling Sydney how inspiring she is..." Gemini dutifully responds with a draft letter in which the LLM tells the runner, on behalf of the daughter, that she wants to be "just like you."

I think the most offensive thing about the ad is what it implies about the kinds of human tasks Google sees AI replacing. Rather than using LLMs to automate tedious busywork or difficult research questions, "Dear Sydney" presents a world where Gemini can help us offload a heartwarming shared moment of connection with our children.

Inserting Gemini into a child's heartfelt request for parental help makes it seem like the parent in question is offloading their responsibilities to a computer in the coldest, most sterile way possible. More than that, it comes across as an attempt to avoid an opportunity to bond with a child over a shared interest in a creative way.

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[–] Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 44 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Okay. I'm a transhumanist. I like AI, automation, and the abolishment of involuntary labor as well as obligatory adversity. Even I thought this ad was super fucking creepy. How the fuck do you justify sending your daughter an auto-generated letter? Now, not only do you not care enough to do it yourself, you're lying to her about it.

[–] festus@lemmy.ca 25 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Other way around - the AI is writing a letter "from" the daughter to be sent to the athlete. Still BS though, and I'm sure famous people just love getting spam fan mail where the person couldn't be bothered to draft it themself.

I was remembering an ad that I saw yesterday(?), so either I mis-remembered, mis-understood, or mistook the ad mentioned in the article for the one I saw.

Regardless, ty for letting me know.

[–] ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Imagine finding out that everything wise your parent had ever said to you was read verbatim from an AI tool.

[–] Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It'd explain a lot, actually. 🤔

[–] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, since 2016 it's become apparent that my father never believed anything he said about morals when I was a kid. Just saying the words he thought he was supposed to say.

From my end, it's more to do with the fact that my parents' advice has been consistently bad and so have their life decisions.

[–] CrowAirbrush@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

If i look around me, the people have stopped caring and been lying about it for years.

Either Google knows it's audience, or the ad was sent to the wrong crowd.