this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2024

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Outsourcing emotion: The horror of Google’s “Dear Sydney” AI ad | The company suggests using AI to write a child’s fan letter and the ad is so bad that Google turned off comments for it on YouTube (arstechnica.com)

submitted 2 months ago by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

190 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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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[–] rimjob_rainer@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 2 months ago

This ad is on purpose, to make us believe that using AI like this is the most normal thing. It's kind of brainwashing. So they can sell it to us.

[–] NounsAndWords@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago

The thing is, LLMs can be used for something like this, but just like if you asked a stranger to write a letter for your loved one and only gave them the vaguest amount of information about them or yourself you're going to end up with a really generic letter.

...but to give me amount of info and detail you would need to provide it with, you would probably end up already writing 3/4 of the letter yourself which defeats the purpose of being able to completely ignore and write off those you care about!

[–] DScratch@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 months ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCPhbN1l024 Futurama at it again.

[–] abracaDavid@lemmy.today 11 points 2 months ago

God I hope that all of these bullshit AI platforms tank these giant awful tech companies.

[–] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 months ago

When i saw this ad a few days ago, my immediate, audible, response was " I guess we don't need humans anymore. "

I think AI has already taken over and it's putting out the ads.

[–] Shawdow194@kbin.run 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It would've been cooler if they used it to write a cool PDF page of info and stats on Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone

Or finding/buying plane tickets at the best price by searching all the sites

[–] wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 2 months ago

But that would imply that it can be relied upon for accuracy.

[–] Snapz@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

"Hey google, get me a dinner reservation at Dorsia"

[–] QuackLegion@feddit.uk 9 points 2 months ago

Let's see Paul Allen's fan letter

[–] KomfortablesKissen@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

Okay, but what if I can't put my feelings into words? If even LLMs have a better grip on human emotion than me?

Edit: Well, then I wouldn't have a daughter in the first place; and I don't. Yay?

[–] mriormro@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

LLMs have no 'grip' on human emotions. That's part of the whole criticism with this.

Finding the words to express one's self is an incredibly important life skill to learn. And it's just that, a skill. It needs to be practiced in order for people to get better at it.

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[–] RogueBanana@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 months ago

New movie just dropped Violet evergarden: Gemini's dream

[–] p5yk0t1km1r4ge@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I think AI is great, but not for this. It's much better suited for, say, stuff like AI dungeon, or other entertainment (DougDoug on twitch/YouTube is the perfect example).

[–] theneverfox@pawb.social 7 points 2 months ago (23 children)

Idk, I mean I think this is more honest and practical LLM advertising than what we've seen before

I like to say AI is good at what I'm bad at. I'm bad at writing emails, putting my emotions out there (unless I'm sleep deprived up to the point I'm past self consciousness), and advocating for my work. LLMs do what takes me hours in a few seconds, even running locally on my modest hardware.

AI will not replace workers without significant qualitative advancements... It can sure as hell smooth the edges in my own life

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