Post
Linda Holmes
@lindaholmes.bsky.social
This commercial showing somebody having a child use AI to write a fan letter to her hero SUCKS. Obviously there are special circumstances and people who need help, but as a general “look how cool, she didn’t even have to write anything herself!” story, it SUCKS. Who wants an AI-written fan letter??
Jul 27, 2024 at 9:48 PM
147 reposts
978 likes
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I promise you, if they’re able, the words your kid can put together will be more meaningful than anything a prompt can spit out.
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And finally: A fan letter is a great way for a kid to learn to write! If you encourage kids to run to AI to spit out words because their writing isn’t great yet, how are they supposed to learn? Sit down with your kid and write the letter with them! I’m just so grossed out by the entire thing.
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they are not supposed to learn, they are supposed to depend on AI for everything in life
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gotta love how google has the ability to make black mirror episodes happen in real life
Nothing says "I want to show the depth of my admiration" like barfing out a template letter.
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This also disgusts me on basic principle because earlier this year I actually sat down an wrote a letter for a childhood hero of mine. It was difficult to put the words together, but you know it means so much more to speak from the heart. The use of genAI to take that heart away is UNFORGIVABLE.
Also why is the FATHER not helping his child write it? What is he doing that is more important than supporting his kid?
Immediately thought: person getting 5000 identical fan letters gonna feel the love
At least the commercial where AI helps someone write a break-up letter tracks — like, if I received a breakup letter that was written by AI I’d be like, “no, you’re right, we are definitely over”
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Ugh that sucks. Is it really an expression of admiration if you can’t even be bothered to speak from the heart & have to have a machine come up with it for you?
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the first fan letter i wrote was okay written it was just that the background was red, the text was yellow and i wrote in caps lock. but if my dad had told me "That letter is okay, do you want AI to write it?" id say "Its that bad?! lets delete it then"
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i think that child is going to have its self confidence shattered because something that was meant as "This robot can correct your wording and spelling so it looks more sharp" ends as "A robot can write this better than you" id be devastated if someone told me that as a child
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I hate that commercial SO MUCH!! Also like that's your job as a father- that could be such a great bonding moment and memory, but no.
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Holy shit I’ve been going crazy about this all morning! I saw that ad like 3 times in just 20 minutes of Olympics coverage and every time I was like holy shit that’s gross!
There are absolutely valid use cases for LLMs, but - wow - depriving children of the earnest act of communication with their heroes - that's just an epic fail of product/advertising.
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To be fair, AI CEOs have big "I'm replying with questions you already answered" energy so maybe they think we all also want to not have to read anything ever
Imagine how delighted the kid will be to get back a photo with a printed signature
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I can tell you that anyone would cherish an imperfectly worded fan letter written in crayon vastly more than a well worded AI written fan letter. AI was written and is being promoted by people who find no value in the human experience.
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It’s everything I dislike about schlocky pre-printed greeting cards or a world’s greatest _____ shirts, except worse.
I was aghast at this one. As bad as that Apple promo where AI can help you avoid having to talk to your own mother.
Dear athlete, You inspire me to be better at the hurdles. I wanted to beat your record someday, but we’re all going to boil alive before I get the chance, because I decided to have a robot write this at the expense of our planet’s climate! Good luck at one of the last-ever Olympics! Love, A Kid
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whats the commercial actually selling? sorry i tried to google it but couldnt figure it out
The stated logic in the commercial is that the dad doesn’t have a way with words so he needs help, which is INSANE because it is the CHILD’S fan letter???!? There are zero AI commercials that have shown me a single use case for my daily life that isn’t WORSE than doing it myself.
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Yeah. It’s important for little kids to understand that what they have to say, from the heart, is good enough. There’s time to become an impeccable writer. But for little kids, it’s at least equally important that they learn to express themselves energetically and authentically.
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It's the "he loved it so much, he ate it" of the kid who got a reply from Maurice Sendak.
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I am so glad I am not the only one who saw that commercial and said "What???"
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Brought to you by the people who get their secretaries to remember family birthdays.
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I was so disgusted by that ad. What benefit at all is this to the child?
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Glad to see someone else put into words what I felt when I saw that!
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Yeah, there have been a few of these commercials where the whole deal is just manufacturing uses cases for AI. The scenarios are all dystopia-lite! Like…”Your kid will never need to learn to express their feelings in writing, let AI do that.”
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AI bros are like 10x fan letters, see AI is a NET GOOD. Meanwhile the fanletters are basically all the same and have no voice. Yuck.
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Do you know the Adams quote about studying politics and war so that his children can study math and philosophy so that their children can study poetry and music? Sometimes I feel like AI developers are guided by that, but remember it backwards.
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Up next: "Have you ever wanted a robot to play with your toys FOR YOU? Think how much time you'll have to do homework!"
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And pointless. If there is one thing that does not need a labour saving device it's a child filled with the energy of obsessional fandom. I could have written War and Peace.
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It’s amazing how these AI companies keep hyping all these things that NOBODY wants.
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They honestly believe everyone loves, uses, and think it is world changing stuff. It is a WILD misread because of all the projection and lack of experiencing the world without some kind of computing involved.
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wtf? What is the point if the fan isn’t expressing their actual thoughts and feelings?
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It all sucks, even if you want to look at the promise sold on "AI". It will do the jobs you don't want. Well it's not going to do and replace manual labor, it's going to replace literal artists. It's so dark and bleak.
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I am glad we all hate this. I was livid.
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