Google's Gemini AI Super Bowl Ad Tries To Humanize AI (And It's Creeping Us Out)
The Super Bowl 59 ad fest had a clear trend that no sports fan would have predicted. It was heavy on artificial intelligence, a tech that is trying to replicate and even replace humans. While AI is making inroads in areas like combat, it is not without its faults. It stands antithetical to what makes us fundamentally human. Yet, Google managed to release a promotional ad for Gemini AI that tugs at the very fabric of human emotions. The ad begins with a man narrating his personal struggles, documenting the steep learning curve at work, the burden of criticism, and handling a team in an unfamiliar place while going through a vulnerable mid-life phase. The protagonist's listening companion is not a human but rather an AI. To put it more specifically, Gemini Live.
It's a conversational chatbot that talks to you as if you are on a phone call with a friend. Created for free-flowing natural conversations, it is the smoothest talker in the AI world right now. The delicate pauses, natural accent, subtle intonation, and the ability to tune the pace at which the AI speaks in an uncannily human fashion are what sets Gemini Live apart — and in an almost unnerving way.
I recently tried it with my partner, who hails from a relatively niche cultural and linguistic background. Barely a few minutes into the conversation, and shocked by the fluidity of the conversation, she asked me to shut it down. It did get a few facts wrong, but the eerily sympathetic nature of the talk left her shocked at Gemini Live.
What makes an AI appeal to humans?
In the Super Bowl ad, we get a glimpse at the protagonist's life and its various phases dealing with the joy of parenting, the grief of separation, the friction of moving ahead in life with a partner, and the realization of finding oneself slowly drifting away from the people we love. An AI can't possibly help us with it. Or that's what most of us would like to think. What it can do is apparently help us deal with the spill-over effect and vent our hearts out.
For that purpose, a chatty assistant like Gemini is well suited. Tuned to act as an ever-positive, always-encouraging digital companion that is always ready to lend an ear and support you, Gemini Live does its job really well. Unlike most other AI companions out there, it can be interrupted mid-way, further adding that "human" touch to the conversations you have. Gemini Live is an eager listener, and to such an extent that you will want to keep the conversation going.
Mentor, friend, or just a knowledge bank, it can act however you want it to. It's just an added bonus that it has the encyclopedic knowledge of the world. It is no wonder that there are people out there who are paying good money to have a supportive AI companion and falling in love with them. Gemini Live is free to access in comparison. The Super Bowl 59 ad simply succeeds at showing a side of Gemini AI that will endear humans in a practical and emotional fashion.