I’m not sure if the author noticed, but the intent of the commercials is to be humorous. If the image of a middle aged man writing an email like he’s in middle school didn’t tip the author off, I’m not sure what will.
It's like the Google Pixel ads showing how you can take a picture, and change all of the scenery with AI. Nothing is real, and you can't trust anything you see or hear. I would be pretty disappointed in my wife if she A) forgot my birthday, and B) spent 10 seconds putting together a photo collage using AI. I would expect her to feel the same. Personal and financial circumstances aside, it IS the thought that counts, and all of these ads seem to be saying it is fine to offload thinking to your trusty AI companion. It's not really humorous, it is dystopian.
Also, those ads showing different AIs acting like HAL but saying "the future doesn't have to be scary" are terrifying. In one the woman is locked in her house by her AI-bot, and uses a menacing tone, doesn't let her leave until she grabs her water bottle. In another, a man is in a self-driving car, which changes routes and takes him to a surprise birthday party. It is NOT a leap to go from these to hearing actual cases where "woman is trapped in her apartment and dies in a fire because the AI wouldn't unlock her door (or AI died first in the fire)", or "self-driving Tesla is hacked by the cartel/abusive ex and drives passenger to their death." I want NO part of the future they are selling.
I would rather my SO just tell me they forgot. Then we could have an honest conversation about why. That, I believe, is what you should do in a marriage.
In my marriage i have been slowly trying to move my birthday back one day at a time. After 3 years of effort ive successfully moved it back 1 day and my spouse still gets confused if its 1 or 2 days later, all due to my active efforts. I dont believe anyone should do this in a marriage, but they could!
I think society will take care of those dystopian feelings in time through non-tech means. Society will always adapt and people can clearly tell a gift or message that is made using AI. So if you want it to be thoughtful you will make it without AI. We are in the cusp of the next phase of growth and so we are seeing/feeling it, but in time it will become seamless
On the other side it's a good thing that there are ads teaching people that they can't trust anything they receive on their phone, because we can really receive fake images, videos, conversations.
Not sure if it's not meant to be humorous - at least it uses (and reverses) several well-known tropes:
- "we said no gifts" - right... so you're the only one who actually followed that? Well, bad luck!
- usually it's the husband forgetting the wife's birthday, not the other way around.
- ...and finally, I'd like to quote Jesus himself: "He who is without sin can cast the first stone" - this ad (and the others) show situations most of us have been in, so they're at least relatable.
I didn’t think they were humorous. If that was the intention, I question the moral baseline of those who wrote them and those that find them funny.
To me they looked bleak, depressing and evocative of a culture that views giving respect to other people as an annoyance that needs an app to make it go away.
Me neither. And it will be funny for some until it's not anymore. I don't like how those, for now, useful ai tools, will dissposses us from our creativity and ability to make things by ourself in the future. It will be fast and hit hard.
I don't think the problem is with the tone, but rather with the messaging. All AI-related marketing has been along the lines of "let the computer think for you" rather than "use the computer to think better", infantilizing rather than empowering the user.
From the bicycle of the mind to the tricycle of the mind.
Sadly that's what most users expect. They don't want to be bothered with learning and understanding, they just want a quick result now with as little effort as possible.
I think the author is trying to discuss how common lying has become. How it seems like nobody is expected to be honest anymore and everybody's just getting away with whatever they can get away with.
How narcissism is an American disease and it's spreading fast do to companies like Apple, Facebook and online dating learning how to profit off it.
I think you nailed it. And coming from Apple, the company that established its cred by touting creativity, individuality, and innovating, it's a wild shift.
Apple in 1997 [1]:
"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
I wonder how much of (people self diagnosing themselves with) autism is actually related to other circumstances like lack of media literacy, lack of familiarity with social circles/norms (or lack of cultural knowledge)
The Ubuntu ad is not bad certainly but it is meh, and where it lacks is where it goes on the tech mode.
