Google's Olympics ad used Gemini to write a child's fan letter — the backlash pulled it

During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Google aired a 60-second spot for its Gemini AI app. A father narrates over footage of his young daughter, a track fan: he is 'pretty good with words, but this has to be just right' — so he asks Gemini to 'help my daughter write a letter telling Sydney how inspiring she is and be sure to mention that my daughter plans on breaking her world record one day.' The letter is to hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

Critics attacked the premise: a parent outsourcing his child's own words to a machine. Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri wrote that the ad 'makes me want to throw a sledgehammer into the television' and that 'to take away the ability to write for yourself is to take away the ability to think for yourself.' Linda Holmes, host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, asked: 'Who wants an AI-written fan letter??' The ad became shorthand for the fear that AI replaces effort, not just drudgery.

About a week after it first aired, Google pulled the spot from its Olympics rotation. The company's statement acknowledged the gap between the ad and its intent: 'While the ad tested well before airing, given the feedback, we have decided to phase the ad out of our Olympics rotation.' It added that AI 'can never replace' human creativity.