Wake-up call for AI makers: They should take the iPad ad’s backlash seriously

livemint.com:

Apple has made some of the world’s most iconic advertisements ever. When the brand’s Macintosh computer was launched about four decades ago with its 1984 commercial, whose protagonist was shown throwing a sledgehammer to smash a giant screen depicting ‘Big Brother,’ the world applauded. But when Apple Inc recently released its Crush! commercial for the iPad that showed several things integral to human lives being crushed by a huge industrial compressor, the world shuddered in fear.

The predominant view expressed through social media was that ‘Big Brother has returned. While launching the latest iPad commercial, Apple Inc’s chief executive Tim Cook tweeted, “Just imagine all the things it’ll be used to create." But instead of putting across the intended message of the device enabling creativity, the commercial ended up conveying a sense of the destruction technology could wreak on all that human hands can create. While watching that commercial, the first thought that went through my head was this: How could Apple have thought it fit to release this advertisement? Months of strategic discussions happen before an idea for a commercial is finalized.

Pre-testing the advertising idea is often done before the final story board goes into production. It is very difficult to believe that at no stage of this long production process did Apple’s marketing department receive any negative feedback on the storyline of this commercial. While the exact reason why Apple released this advertisement is hard to understand, one thing is clear.