Google Gemini

Google pulls AI ad for Olympics following backlash

Google Gemini

The ad, titled “Dear Sydney,” showed a girl’s dad prompting the AI chatbot to help write a letter to her favorite athlete, U.S. hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Google launched Gemini, formerly known as Bard, last year following the surge in popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Google Gemini

“Gemini, help my daughter write a letter telling Sydney how inspiring she is,” the father said in the ad, prompting Gemini. The commercial then briefly shows the draft Gemini produced and closes with footage of the little girl running on the track with a text overlay that says, “A little help from Gemini.”

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Google Gemini

Google previously defended the ad. However, backlash continued to gain steam as people accused the company of encouraging the use of automation instead of authenticity, particularly with children.

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