Monologue: The Super Bowl Showed That Generative AI Is Washed - Better Offline

Summary

Better Offline Episode Summary

Title: Monologue: The Super Bowl Showed That Generative AI Is Washed
Host: Ed Zitron
Release Date: February 14, 2025

Introduction: Super Bowl Ads as a Platform for AI Marketing

Timestamp: [00:31]

In this episode, Ed Zitron delves into the significant presence of generative AI advertisements during the Super Bowl, a stage typically dominated by high-budget, memorable commercials. He expresses his disappointment with the quality and substance of the AI-focused ads, setting the tone for a critical examination of the tech industry's advertising strategies.

Critique of AI Company Advertisements

1. Anthropics' Claude Commercial

Timestamp: [01:15]

Ed begins by referencing Anthropics' five-second commercial featuring "Claude is the next generation AI." He criticizes the message as meaningless, emphasizing the lack of clarity and substance in the advertisement.

Quote: “Claude is the next generation AI—a sentence that, when you think about it, means precisely nothing.” ([01:20])

2. Microsoft's Copilot AI Ad

Timestamp: [02:00]

Highlighting Microsoft's attempt to showcase their Copilot AI, Ed points out the disconnect between the advertised functionalities and the actual performance.

Quote: “Write code for my 3D open world game simply didn't do what they said they did.” ([02:10])

He likens the experience to receiving a recipe instead of the actual meal when using Uber Eats, underscoring the frustration with unmet expectations.

3. Google's Pixel 9 and Generative AI Gemini Live

Timestamp: [03:45]

Ed critiques Google's Pixel 9 ad, where a father is seemingly preparing for a job interview with the assistance of Google’s generative AI, Gemini Live. He finds the narrative confusing and emotionally manipulative, questioning the ad's actual purpose and clarity.

Quote: “Very clearly built for people who cry whenever they remember their parents. Sorry, if that's you, you are do not use Gemini Live.” ([04:05])

He expresses skepticism about the effectiveness and sincerity of the emotional approach used in the commercial.

4. OpenAI's Intelligence Age Commercial

Timestamp: [05:00]

The host scrutinizes OpenAI's "Intelligence Age" ad for its vague portrayal of AI capabilities. He notes the absence of clear, actionable examples and criticizes the ad for being overly simplistic and uninformative.

Quote: “What does this product do? What is ChatGPT? And assuming that AI ends up actually wrecking the labor market as they want it to, the idea of using ChatGPT is a soundboard for when you renegotiate your contract.” ([06:15])

Ed is particularly disappointed that after two years, OpenAI hasn't provided meaningful use cases to justify the AI's value.

5. Salesforce's Agent Force Ad

Timestamp: [07:30]

Salesforce's advertisement featuring Matthew McConaughey claims their AI, Agent Force, enhances customer experiences at Heathrow Airport. Ed dissects the ad’s misleading claims, highlighting the minimal impact and questioning the authenticity of Salesforce's AI prowess.

Quote: “Salesforce has no powerful AI. It's all a lie, a con, an attempt to pretend that a company does something they do not do.” ([08:45])

He further criticizes the advertisement for not transparently conveying the product's actual capabilities and effectiveness.

General Critique of Generative AI Advertising

Timestamp: [08:00]

Ed summarizes his overarching frustration with generative AI advertisements. He argues that these ads are characterized by vagueness and dishonesty, revealing a lack of genuine innovation and respect for consumers.

Quote: “Vague and blatant lies that barely mask the contempt that these companies have for customers.” ([08:20])

He contends that the tech industry's inability to present clear, valuable applications for AI undermines the credibility and potential of generative technologies.

Comparison to Cryptocurrency Advertisement Craze

Timestamp: [08:50]

Drawing parallels to the cryptocurrency boom, Ed reminisces about how crypto advertisements, despite being misleading and often fraudulent, managed to capture public attention effectively. He contrasts this with the current AI advertising landscape, which he believes fails to engage or convince the audience.

Quote: “It's easytteroffline.com I would love to hear what they actually said.” ([09:00]) (Note: This appears to reference a part of the ad critique but underscores his desire for clarity.)

Ed expresses disappointment that AI ads lack the compelling, if deceptive, narratives that once propelled the crypto craze, leading him to believe the AI bubble is unsustainable.

Conclusion: The AI Bubble is Primed to Burst

Timestamp: [09:10]

Ed concludes with a pessimistic view of the generative AI industry's future, asserting that the lack of substantive, honest advertising is a clear indicator that the AI bubble is nearing its burst.

Quote: “This was the biggest stage that Generative AI will ever have, and they blew it because, well, deep down, they realized there's just not that much to sell.” ([09:30])

He underscores the futility of the current advertising strategies and predicts significant repercussions for the tech industry if it continues down this path.

Final Thoughts

Throughout the monologue, Ed Zitron offers a scathing critique of generative AI advertisements showcased during the Super Bowl. By dissecting specific commercials from leading AI companies, he highlights a pervasive trend of misleading, vague, and ineffective marketing strategies. His analysis suggests a growing disconnect between AI advancements and their portrayal to the public, ultimately questioning the sustainability of the current AI hype.

Notable Quotes:

“Claude is the next generation AI—a sentence that, when you think about it, means precisely nothing.” ([01:20])
“Write code for my 3D open world game simply didn't do what they said they did.” ([02:10])
“Very clearly built for people who cry whenever they remember their parents. Sorry, if that's you, you are do not use Gemini Live.” ([04:05])
“What does this product do? What is ChatGPT? And assuming that AI ends up actually wrecking the labor market as they want it to, the idea of using ChatGPT is a soundboard for when you renegotiate your contract.” ([06:15])
“Salesforce has no powerful AI. It's all a lie, a con, an attempt to pretend that a company does something they do not do.” ([08:45])
“Vague and blatant lies that barely mask the contempt that these companies have for customers.” ([08:20])
“This was the biggest stage that Generative AI will ever have, and they blew it because, well, deep down, they realized there's just not that much to sell.” ([09:30])

This summary captures the essence of Ed Zitron's critical analysis of generative AI advertisements aired during the Super Bowl, highlighting his concerns about the tech industry's marketing tactics and the broader implications for the AI sector.

Transcript

Martin Luther King III (0:00)

Welcome to My Legacy. I'm Martin Luther King III and together with my wife, Andrea Waters King, and our dear friends Mark and Craig Kilburger, we explore the personal journeys that shape extraordinary lives.

Jess Hilarious (0:12)

Join us for heartfelt conversations with remarkable guests like David Oyelowo, Mel Robbins, Martin Sheen, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Billy Porter.

Ed Zitron (0:22)

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Martin Luther King III (0:27)

This is My Legacy.

Ed Zitron (0:31)

Call Zone Media hello and welcome to this week's Better Offline Monologue. I'm your host Ed Zitron. Better Offline Last Sunday was the super bowl, the final game of the NFL season. And for those of you who don't like sport or live in another country or something, it's an event that many people just watch for the many, many ads that they cut into during the game. A Super bowl ad can cost as much as $8 million for a 30 second commercial depending on where it airs during the game. The most coveted slots being just before the halftime show. And the ads themselves tend to be these spectacular, highly produced, fair they're very weird, but they put a ton of money into them. This year I was specifically excited to see what bullshit slop the various AI companies would try and force down my nasty little throat. Last year, anthropic aired a 5 second long commercial that said, and I quote, Claude is the next generation AI a sentence that, when you think about it, means precisely nothing. And Microsoft famously aired a copilot AI commercial where several of the prompts such as write code for my 3D open world game simply didn't do what they said they did. In the case of the Open World game, by the way, from last year, it generated a step by step guide to building one, which isn't the same thing at all. It's kind of like ordering dinner and Uber eats bringing you a recipe for a burrito instead of an actual burrito, but still charging you all the same. Nevertheless, this year's slop was even more obscene, starting with an ad for Google's Pixel 9 phone where a guy is asked questions as if he's taking a job interview by Google's generative AI Gemini Live. As he answers them, it's obvious that what he's describing is actually being a father. They also show you an overlay of like him taking his kid to school. It's got emotional music playing with him taking her to school. At one point he Googles explain bullying to a child, which I should be clear, is not a Gemini product. It's just Google Search it's unclear what this ad is actually advertising. We don't hear the prompt that started these questions, nor do we know why he's answering them, but when he's done, he's clearly joining some sort of job interview virtually. Gemini doesn't really respond to any of his answers other than to say things like try rephrasing your answer to sound more confident. So we can assume, and that's all we're doing here, that he's preparing for a job interview. He's also pretty old, like his kid has gone off to college. He's a full grown adult now. Very weird, very weird commercial. Very clearly built for people who cry whenever they remember their parents. Sorry, if that's you, you are do not use Gemini Life. That's my recommendation. Next up was OpenAI's gratuitously stupid commercial called the Intelligence Age, which showed a dot matrix history of time involving men throwing spears, people riding horses, waves crashing, a waving skeleton. For some reason there was a plane and eventually a globe with a few dots going toward a computer with a modem sound playing a full 40 seconds. In this one minute long commercial, we start actually hearing prompts. Someone says, summarize this article for me. Then someone else says, help me practice asking for a raise. And this prompt, by the way, is near impossible to hear as it's cut off to have a guy say, act as my sleep coach. And then there's two more prompts in a language I don't speak. Then another that says turn my idea into a business plan before a chirpy voice asks, what do you want to create next? This is really good. I love this. I also love the idea of having two prompts in different languages because people speak different languages other than English. I understand that there is no official language of America, so it's good. But nevertheless that you only got a few seconds. You didn't think to like try and get as many prompts in? Maybe it's that they didn't have them. In fact, if you're a listener and you watch this commercial and you speak those languages, please email me. It's easytteroffline.com I would love to hear what they actually said. Nevertheless, asking ChatGPT to be your sleep coach leads it to ask you about your sleeping habits, your lifestyle, common issues, sleep quality, and your ideal goals. Asking it to turn my idea into a business plan immediately led it to asking me what my idea was. Great. I can practice with a large language model how to ask for a raise, but what does that mean? Exactly what does this product do? What is ChatGPT? And assuming that AI ends up actually wrecking the labor market as they want it to, the idea of using ChatGPT is a soundboard for when you renegotiate your contract. Kind of feels like more of a cruel joke. It's also not going to do that. But anyway, two fucking years into this nonsense and these assholes can't even come up with one interesting or useful example. It's a fucking joke. These people have such contempt for customers that they can barely be bothered to advertise their product. It's also goddamn half hearted. Yet the worst one by far was Salesforce and their gate expectations ad where Matthew McConaughey, an actor, says that he, and I quote, didn't use Agent Force, the powerful AI from Salesforce. So an AI agen didn't send him the fastest route to his gate, or route if you're British, which has now changed the commercial ends by saying that Salesforce helps London Heathrow create a first class experience. Everyone in the commercial is also American. Nevertheless, I actually went and looked up what this integration actually looked like and discovered that Heathrow actually integrated Einstein's chatbots. Einstein being Salesforce's large language model chatbot thing, they've been warming up for about a decade, but this was back in May 2023. They claimed that Einstein answered more than 4,000 questions a month and helped cut call service volumes by 27% and that Heathrow has seen a 450% increase in live chat usage since launch. Then they proudly added that today, and the article is completely undated. Heathrow had seen about around 40 to 60 second quicker per contact interactions in call centers with Einstein chatbots. This is the only data that appears to exist for anything to do with Agent Force and Heathrow. There's nothing else I could find. I will add that A record breaking 83.9 million passengers flew through Heathrow in 2024. 4,000 questions a month or 48,000 a year is kind of a drop in the bucket. As a percentage it's 0.0572%. And like I said, really not finding any information about their Agent Force integration. All I could Find was a LinkedIn post from Sharon Pryor, who is the director of technology at Heathrow, who said that 400% more questions were handled via live chat. Which is interesting because the one from 2023 it seems was 450%. I guess that went down. And apparently Agent Force has something called instant FAQs and in terminal wayfinding for your gate, plus restaurants, shops and facilities. I want to be clear that all this bullshit was doable with knowledge management systems and chatbots all the way back in the mid 2010s. Salesforce isn't even describing AI agents, which are supposedly autonomous chatbots. They're describing this boring Bob standard bullshit. We can help you find your gate stuff that apps have done for a decade. What's more insulting is the commercial obfuscates what this product actually is. Muhorahi, as a traveler, is saying he didn't use AgentForce, which is the powerful AI from Salesforce, as if that is something a consumer chooses to do versus a business being actively conned by Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce. Salesforce has no powerful AI. It's all a lie, a con, an attempt to pretend that a company does something they do not do. Salesforce has a large language model they're working on. They've used ChatGPT or GPT4 in the past. Nevertheless, I don't know what the powerful AI is Salesforce. Well, their problem is simple. They can't do an ad that says, hey, do you want a slightly more powerful chatbot that costs a great deal of money? So they have to make this kind of incongruent ad that lies about their product without ever really saying what it does. OpenAI, two years into this bubble, still can't muster up a single meaningful, interesting use case. And in both Google and OpenAI's case, it truly isn't obvious what the product is that they're selling. And that really is the ultimate summary of the AI boom. Vague and blatant lies that barely mask the contempt that these companies have for customers. So much contempt that they can't even bother to give them a real reason to use it. And if I'm honest, I'm a little bit disappointed about these commercials because they lacked even the juice of the 2022 crypto bacchanalia. You see there. We had celebrities that called you a pig and a moron. They said you were a hog that rolled around in the mud and you oinked and squealed instead of putting everything you had behind crypto. And people like Tom Brady, well, they delivered, or at least on a superficial level, these compelling ish messages that suggested you might really need to and successfully convince people to buy these nebulous tokens and NFTs. Even though many of the companies they promoted turned out to be elaborate Ponzi schemes such as ftx. And never have I been more certain that this bubble will pop. This was the biggest stage that Generative AI will ever have, and they blew it because, well, deep down, they realized there's just not that much to sell.