Unique Research · Thinking · December 4, 2024
“I’m picking holiday gifts for my sisters — tabs open — and I’ll ask my wife.”
That’s Browser Company CEO Josh Miller in a spot for Dia, the new AI browser replacing beloved Arc. Not everyone loves the Arc→AI pivot; the ad accidentally explains why.
Miller doesn’t talk to his wife. He talks to his AI chatbot and has it message her for him: “Hi Valerie, hope you’re well… I found some interesting products on Amazon… Best, Josh.” Tone of a formal email, not a warm chat with someone you see every day — correct content, cold affect, could go to anyone.
He could have prompted warmer language. The deeper miss: there is no real conversation. AI turns sincere human exchange into something distant — today’s AI pattern. Connection once meant face-to-face; then texts; now people try AI-to-AI (or just AI), removing the need for direct human contact. Part of the ad shows Dia pulling context across pages — impressive for current AI. It’s also an example of generative AI sanding down human traits.
Earlier this year Google’s Gemini ad had a dad and daughter generate an AI fan letter to an Olympian — backlash that automating a warm parent-child moment was wrong; Google pulled it. Apple’s WWDC: point iPhone at a stranger’s dog, Apple Intelligence names the breed — many noted you could just ask the stranger and maybe make a friend. Extreme case: Friend’s AI-companion promo — lonely young people get a device so they talk less to real people.
Common AI uses today: generated art (lower-stakes creativity) and AI companions (can feel like a smart, empathetic friend). Both matter to the human experience — hence the worry.
Every dystopian AI ad trends on social; thousands of bland ones vanish. Why? Most AI ads have no substance — companies paint AI as a fairy-tale shapeless magic that can do almost anything. SF billboard samples: “So smart you’d swear it’s from Texas.” “AI can talk to cars and wildlife.” Harmless — and magically vague in public.
Maybe that’s the point. Why not the obvious pitch — “AI takes the boring work so you get beach, friends, hobbies”? Zoom’s CEO paints that optimistic vision. Paradox: if AI can do your job, can it replace you entirely? Full replacement may be far off — yet most companies dodge that fact.
There’s no settled “right way” to sell AI yet; current ads are strange. Prior tech eras promised liberation, connection, smarter humans. AI’s main promise is still unclear. If AI companies need a bright spot, automating human experience is a poor one.
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