The new iPad Pro advertisement has been met with widespread backlash as artists from all fields decry the implied message that the entire history of creative endeavour can be superseded by their latest tablet.
The advert, which depicts a pile of human artefacts being unceremoniously crushed by a hydraulic press only to be replaced by the new iPad, has elicited anger from many who fear that artificial intelligence (AI) poses an existential threat to their livelihoods.
British actor Hugh Grant wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the advert represents “the annihilation of human experience courtesy of Silicon Valley”. He posted his message in reply to Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, who introduced the brand’s new tablets on Tuesday.
“Meet the new iPad Pro: the thinnest product we’ve ever made, with the most advanced display, powered by the astonishing M4 chip. Imagine all the things it will enable you to create,” stated Cook.
While Apple mentioned AI only sparingly and didn’t specifically refer to generative AI, this technology – which can produce a variety of content (text, images, videos, music, and so on) in response to simple language commands – is looming large over the artistic community. Hollywood actors and scriptwriters have been on strike for months, partly to demand protections against generative AI.
In Apple’s advertisement, items including a metronome, paint pots, a piano, jukebox, globe, cameras, books and many more, get slowly crushed by a massive hydraulic press. This then lifts to reveal an iPad Pro.
This is all set to the nostalgia-tinged pop song “All I Ever Need is You” by Sonny & Cher (“When I’m down and lonely, all I need is you”). Numerous authors and artists have filed complaints against major tech companies, like OpenAI, accusing them of plundering their works to train their generative AI models.
