Gross Apple Marketing
Apple’s new “Apple Intelligence” ads, which show people using on-device AI to polish emails, fake remembering names, and improvise last‑minute birthday gifts, are provoking backlash for normalizing dishonesty and depicting users as lazy or incompetent. Critics argue this reflects a broader shift from empowering technology (“bicycle of the mind”) to tools that offload basic thought and social effort, raising ethical concerns about how AI is marketed and used in everyday relationships. A contrasting Ubuntu anniversary spot is cited as more tasteful but is also faulted for being vague and generic, highlighting how hard it is to advertise AI and operating systems without either condescension or empty buzzwords.
Overall reaction to Apple’s “Apple Intelligence” ads
- Many find the AI ads “bleak,” “dystopian,” and morally off‑putting, especially the ones where:
- An employee uses AI to sound “professional.”
- A woman uses AI to fake remembering someone’s name and to pretend she read a colleague’s email.
- A spouse uses AI to cover up forgetting a birthday with a last‑second auto‑generated collage.
- Critics say the ads normalize and celebrate lying, laziness, and disrespect, framing deception as “genius” rather than something to feel uneasy about.
- Defenders argue the spots are clearly meant as light sitcom‑style humor, exaggerating familiar failings (forgetfulness, procrastination) and not intended as moral instruction.
Ethics, culture, and “infantilizing” tech
- Several commenters see the ads as emblematic of a wider trend: AI pitched as “let the computer think for you” instead of “think better with the computer.”
- Concern that this reinforces intellectual passivity, undermines personal responsibility, and accelerates a culture where nothing can be trusted (deepfakes, AI‑written messages).
- Some tie this to broader worries about narcissism, dishonesty, and loneliness in modern consumer culture.
Comparison with Ubuntu / Canonical ad
- The Ubuntu animation is widely panned as generic, jargon‑heavy, and emotionally flat; many say it doesn’t explain what Ubuntu is or why anyone should care.
- A few agree it’s less objectionable than Apple’s ads but also note it “tells” buzzwords (“secure,” “performant,” “certified”) instead of “showing” concrete benefits.
- Some argue the author’s praise of the Ubuntu ad undermines their credibility about Apple’s ads.
Apple marketing, past and present
- Multiple comments contrast the new AI campaign with earlier Apple ads that were aspirational, creative, or playful without encouraging deceit.
- Others say the Steve Jobs era of emotionally resonant, “Think Different”‑style messaging is gone; current Apple feels more cynical or confused about AI’s value.
- The fear‑based Apple Watch and crash‑detection campaigns are cited as another shift: “buy this or you/your kids might die,” which some defend as legitimate safety marketing and others see as tasteless.
Views on AI itself
- Many see consumer AI use cases as flimsy—mostly about cheating at work or outsourcing trivial tasks.
- Others report genuine usefulness in narrow, transparent roles (translation, transcription, accessibility, meeting prep) and argue the best AI is often invisible rather than the star of the ad.