Google pulls Gemini AI Olympics advertisement after backlash

Google did the unthinkable this week in uniting the internet in condemnation of an Olympics-themed ad for its Google Gemini generative AI platform.

Now the backlash has prompted Google to pull the advertisement from its rotation during the Olympic Games taking place in Paris right now.

The ad, titled Dear Sydney, was about a father enlisting Gemini to write a letter from his daughter – a talented young runner – to her hero, the US Olypmpic sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

“Gemini, help my daughter write a letter telling Sydney how inspiring she is,” the father narrating the commercial said.

That drew anger from prominent online commentators who claimed Google was discouraging creativity by having the AI take on what could have been a father-daughter bonding exercise.

In a blog post circulated widely, Syracuse University media professor Shelly Palmer said it represented a “monocultural future where we see fewer and fewer examples of original human thoughts.”

Google has now backed away from the ad, and issued a statement on the matter (via CNBC): “While the ad tested well before airing, given the feedback, we have decided to phase the ad out of our Olympics rotation. 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.”

The decision comes a few months after Apple was also forced to back away from an iPad advertisement that critics described as crushing creativity. The ad used an industrial press to destroy musical instruments, leaving an iPad Pro leftover.

Earlier this year Apple admitted: “We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”