A Toys R Us commercial sparked major backlash for its use of artificial intelligence.
The fallout marked the latest example of public outcry in the face of the nascent technology, Forbes reported. Toys R Us commissioned Native Foreign to use Sora, an OpenAI model that relies on text to generate scenes.
Just like a weird dream it is a different person each time you see them pic.twitter.com/5Vc85ElqO1
— syndrowm (@syndrowm) June 25, 2024
The 66-second advertisement shows a rendering of Charles Lazarus, the company founder, as a child. In a dream, his vision to transform toy stores was unveiled. The spot ends with a solicitation disguised as a wish that "all of your dreams come true too."
Forbes explained one of the problems with the video: that the child looks different nearly every time he appears on screen, noting it's likely "the best the AI could generate."
"The ad highlights the capacities of AI-generated video, along with the weaknesses inherent to the technology," the outlet stated.
Using AI to promote consumerism is ethically questionable at best, but even if such technology were used to air educational information or stir beneficial behaviors, it would be dubious. That's because AI takes actors' jobs. In this case, it also may have taken the jobs of countless graphic artists and other creators who would have been paid to create, edit, and finalize the complex commercial.
AI is also criticized for its use of vital resources, including water, and the strain it puts on electrical grids, especially since the use of such power is all but completely fueled by the burning of dirty sources of energy, which is causing the warming of the planet and subsequent failing human health, wildlife collapse, and environmental destruction.
"Charles Lazarus was a visionary ahead of his time and we wanted to honor his legacy with a spot using the most cutting-edge technology available," Toys R Us global chief marketing officer and Toys R Us Studios President Kim Miller Olko said. "Our brand embraces innovation and the emotional appeal of Toys R Us to connect with consumers in unexpected ways. We aim to capture that nostalgic feeling and deliver it uniquely to Toys R Us kids of all ages."
Forbes shared a number of reactions from social media that were decidedly negative.
🗣️ Do you think kids spend too much time in front of screens?
🔘 Yes — it's rotting their brains 🧠
🔘 No — screens are the future 💻
🔘 There should be a good balance ⚖️
🔘 No idea — I don't have kids 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"There is fundamentally no benefit to this," concept artist RJ Palmer wrote on X.
Someone else said: "We all cheered when Toys 'R' Us returned from near death, but now we all want to send it straight to hell. What a gross slap in the face to the whole toys industry. And beyond that, to the ENTIRE idea of imaginative play. An abysmal insult. Shame on everyone involved."
"There's something so cynical about creating an ad about the limitless imagination of a child and then rendering it with soulless AI slop," Zach Silberberg, a video editor and content producer, posted.
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