It aroused the anger of many artists angry against artificial intelligence. Apple apologized on Thursday, May 9, after advertising for its new iPad Pro, which shows all kinds of objects representing human creativity crushed and replaced by the tablet.
“The destruction of the human experience thanks to Silicon Valley”, for example reacted the British actor Hugh Grant on X (ex-Twitter), in response to the message presenting the new iPad Pro by Tim Cook, the boss of ‘Apple.
“We missed the boat”
“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,” said Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of marketing, at 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 mark with this video and we’re sorry,” he added.
The company also decided not to broadcast the ad on television, as initially planned.
AI launched a strike in Hollywood
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 complaints against major companies in the sector, such as OpenAI (ChatGPT), accusing them of having plundered their works to train their generative AI models.
“A digital simulacrum”
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,” said, ironically, Ed Solomon, the screenwriter of Men in Black, on X.