Apple issued an apology on Thursday, May 9, 2024 after advertising for its new iPad Pro, which shows all kinds of objects representing human creativity crushed and replaced by the tablet, aroused the anger of many artists angry against intelligence artificial (AI).
“ The destruction of the human experience thanks to Silicon Valley“, for example reacted the British actor Hugh Grant on X (ex-Twitter). This, in response to the message presenting the new iPad Pro by Tim Cook, the boss of Apple.
“ Creativity is part of our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to build products that enable creatives around the world to flourish“, declared Tor Myhren, vice president of marketing at Apple, to the specialized site Ad Age.
“ Our goal is to celebrate the myriad ways people express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the boat with this video and we are sorry“, he added.
The company also decided not to broadcast the ad on television, as initially planned.
Apple spoke very little about AI on Tuesday, and did not mention generative AI, but this technology – which makes it possible to produce all kinds of content (texts, images, videos, music, etc.) on a simple request in everyday language – is on the mind of all artists.
Hollywood actors and screenwriters went on strike for several months, demanding in particular protections against generative AI.
And many artists have filed lawsuits against major companies in the industry, like OpenAI (ChatGPT), accusing them of pilfering their works to train their generative AI models.
In Apple’s ad, a metronome, paint cans, piano, jukebox, mannequin, sculpture, cameras, books and many other objects are slowly crushed by a huge hydraulic press, then , it rises to reveal, in their place, an iPad Pro.
All to the sound of the nostalgic pop song “ All I Ever Need is You » by Sonny & Cher (“ Sometimes when I’m down and all alone, all I need is you“).
“ Who needs human life and everything that makes it worth living? Immerse yourself in this digital simulacrum and give us your soul. Sincerely, Apple“, launched with irony, Ed Solomon, the screenwriter of Men in Black, on X.
With AFP.
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