Redefining Cool in AI Era

Jaguar Land Rover CEO Adrian Mardell, who has served three years at the helm and 35 years with the automaker, will retire in November-December, yielding to P B Balaji, chief financial officer of JLR owner Tata Motors.

- PRATIK KANJILAL

Jaguar Land Rover CEO Adrian Mardell, who has served three years at the helm and 35 years with the automaker, will retire in November-December, yielding to P B Balaji, chief financial officer of JLR owner Tata Motors. Seventeen years after the Tatas took over the iconic British marque, Jaguar will be headed by an Indian. But celebrating reverse imperialism is not cool.

What's cool is that finally, amid ongoing anxieties about AI, the change of guard provides tangible proof that for better or worse, machines have become smarter than humans. Mardell announced his departure after the epic failure of a 'woke' advertising campaign which focused on excessively individualistic human figures amid bright colours, with desperately progressive slogans like 'copy nothing' and 'break moulds', and without any reference whatsoever to automobiles or luxury. The Jaguar brand lost face and value, like Tesla did after Elon Musk's political antics.

The humans on Mardell's watch, including the CEO himself, had failed to appreciate that an auto ad without a car may not be read as an auto ad. But AIs get it right. Here's the response of Copilot on being asked to look at the images and consider nothing else: "Based solely on the visual elements—ignoring all text and prior knowledge—the advertisement appears to be promoting a fashion or clothing brand."