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 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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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[–] [email protected] 35 points 3 months ago (6 children)

Let's say that there is a single player MMO where all the other players are played by AI, but it is done so well that you can't really see the difference from real-human MMO players.

Would you play this? I would not. The fact that there is a human on the other side is important, even though it does not make any practical difference. Same with birthday wishes - that's way Facebook did not automate "Happy birthday!" even though it could.

Would you upload your personal data and voice to Open AI for it to make a a birthday wishes call to your mom? So convinient! She won't know the difference, and you get a 5 bulletpoint summary afterwards! Such a hellscape.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I want an MMO where 90+% of the "players", are AI.

5% of the players are idk, "cylons" or vampires, or "outlaws" or whatever, and they have to hide among the townspeople. They need to act like AI. They need to think like AI. But they have objectives to destroy the ship, or gather an army of vampire spawn, or rob the bank, or whatever. To do this, they need to look like AI. They need to act like AI. They need to think like AI.

5% of the players are the "heroes" or "main characters" or "vampire hunters" or whatever. They are outed but have bonus powers. They have to route out the vampires or cylons or outlaws; whatever.

Basically a giant online game of mafia. Give the baddies special powers, give the heroes special powers. Weapons, armors, disguises, leveling, etc.. etc.. basic game mechanics.

But ultimately its a giant game of mafia using the AI as fog of war.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I'd play the shit outta that

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

After suggesting it and thinking about this a bit further.

You could probably hack together a text version of this that works on lemmy.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Westworld vibes

[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago (2 children)

There was an MMO that was single player, DotHack. It has its fans.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago

the game isn't tricking you though, and it's structured like a regular RPG or it would take 100 hours to get to the ending doing pointless grinding, but you get there just by following the plot.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

That was more a MMO themed normal JRPG. It had a central plot focused on the main cast specifically that played out in the scenario of an MMO, with very scripted dialog and sequence of events.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Shit, online guides in MMOs are bad enough. "why aren't you following the meta" "you should be using this item and doing this build" These things basically make people bots. Having actual bots might be better.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Would you play this? I would not.

Not only will people play it, they will play it in droves because at the end of the day, people are fluid, and fluid flows in predictable patterns.

You and I may be offended at the very idea of playing a game surrounded by fake people acting real, but for the average kid growing up in a world where reality is already a tenuous concept online, it will just be another strange experience in a growing list, and it might be really fun because of the things a game can do with complete control over the population of the "MMO."

Would you upload your personal data and voice to Open AI for it to make a a birthday wishes call to your mom?

Not in a million years. The next generation will though, they won't see any issue with it.

Unless something radically falls apart and makes people spurn electronic media entirely, some great Butlerian Jihad of the 21st century, we are going to see things get a LOT worse before they get better.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Not in a million years. The next generation will though, they won’t see any issue with it.

I guess they will anwser such calls with AI to get a summary anyway...

Great points overall. I guess previous generations thought that a hand-written letter cant be replaced by a digital one, yet here we are.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Let's say that there is a single player MMO where all the other players are played by AI, but it is done so well that you can't really see the difference from real-human MMO players.

Would you play this? I would not. The fact that there is a human on the other side is important, even though it does not make any practical difference. Same with birthday wishes - that's way Facebook did not automate "Happy birthday!" even though it could.

Animal crossing fans rise up

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

...and then imagine the AI not even pretending to be human, instakilling everyone in sight and outnumbering human players :/