Why Google’s Gemini Olympics ads failed

While artificial intelligence can do amazing things, there seems to be general agreement that there’s one thing it can’t or shouldn’t do: writing a letter to a child in honour of their sports hero.

Google learned this lesson the hard way. A new ad for its AI-powered chatbot Gemini, called “Dear Sidney,” in which a father asks Gemini to write a letter on his daughter’s behalf to Olympic hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, has been widely criticized. People “wanted to scream.” They were “disgusted” and described the ad as “nauseating.”

Dr. James R. Doty, a neuroscientist at Stanford University who studies how people set intentions and achieve their goals, was more concerned than outraged by the commercial’s troubling premise.

“This is a very personal story that comes from, so to speak, the heart and soul of[a person],” Doty told Mashable. “When you put an AI into it, you lose all understanding of what it means to write a letter to a hero.”

Doty, author of the new book Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everythingsaid that using generative AI to create such messages not only misses an opportunity for authentic human expression.

Moreover, while the protagonists often encourage us to think about what kind of life we ​​want, the authors leave out a key part of the process of setting intentions and goals.

Doty said effective goal setting should start with first reflecting on your values, connecting them to the goal you want to achieve, understanding how that goal will help others, and then setting intentions that, along with hard work, will ultimately help you realize that aspiration.

So for the little girl in the Google ad, or any kid seeing a reflection of their own ambition and dedication to a sport, taking the time to idolize your hero and reflect on and articulate why you want to beat their record can be a crucial part of goal-setting. Of course, doing this with a parent, like the dad in the commercial, can also create a special bonding moment.

Doty noted that an AI chatbot tasked with the writing task might collect only information it deems relevant, such as the protagonist’s record, awards, honors, etc. Resume compilation could reduce the amount of time letter writers need to spend on research.

But Doty argued that results could also exclude athletes’ contributions to their communities and less quantifiable achievements, such as their sexual orientation or gender identity – achievements that help make them heroes in the eyes of many.

Sure, your child may want to become the next GOAT of their sport, but the prospect of becoming an athlete who can be a role model for other kids may be just as important to them.

“To ring authentic, it has to be your story, not some story that an AI has created based on a ton of information about the athlete,” Doty said.

He added that many AI products, especially those that address social media content, are marketed to users as tools to help them get more likes and engagement.

While Gemini is marketed as a chatbot that helps users “enhance” their ideas, it may still be aiming to create likeable content, which could steer authors of all ages away from heartfelt reflection or undermine confidence in their own vision and opinions.

Importantly, Doty said, goal setting is most effective when people are calm and relaxed, dream big, and envision their future achievement in a state of mind driven by love, not fear. In other words, goals formed from a desire for external validation or material gain are much harder to achieve because of the anxiety and disappointment that comes with them. But AI doesn’t necessarily know that.

Despite the criticism, Doty isn’t against generative AI: He co-founded a mental health app that uses the technology, and he believes it can support human creativity and expression without replacing it.

“If you’re writing something that’s not who you are or that’s not what you feel deeply about, then it’s not you and it’s a lie,” Doty said.