Google Catches Heat Over ‘Dear Sydney’ Olympics A.I. Ad [Video]

If you’ve tuned into the Summer Olympics, you’ve likely seen the commercial Google whipped up to promote its “Gemini” A.I., but the internet search giant may have realized it missed the mark based on the route it decided to take after the spot found itself at the center of controversy.

At this point, you won’t find many tech companies that haven’t embraced artificial intelligence with open arms, and most of their marketing departments have been tasked with doing everything in their power to convince skeptical members of the general public they’re missing out by refusing to adopt what has firmly been positioned as The Next Big Thing.

That obviously includes Google, which attempted to go head-to-head with ChatGPT by launching Bard in 2023 before eventually rebranding it as “Gemini” in the wake of a rollout that left a bit to be desired.

Google decided to harness the Summer Olympics to drum up some hype …