LEGENDS OF THE FUTURE

Can these ads make you love AI?

- STEVEN KURUTZ

Artificial intelligence is going to cure cancer, solve life’s mysteries and liberate humankind from drudgery. But maybe, when all is said and done, it will give you just the right pasta recipe to impress someone you have a crush on.

That seems to be the main message of an extensive advertising campaign for ChatGPT, the chatbot and virtual assistant developed by the company OpenAI.

The campaign’s 30-second commercials, created by the New York City creative agency Isle of Any, have a pronounced retro aesthetic, bringing to mind the days before everyone carried smartphones. Each ad emphasises humans and downplays the tech.

In a TV spot titled Dish, a young woman taste-tests a home-cooked meal prepared by a young man in his city apartment. As she takes the first bite, the expression on her face goes from neutral, perhaps even a little sceptical, to approving.

Dish is steeped in references to the old, analogue world. The apartment is decorated with stacks of books, a little white gas stove that looks like a holdover from the 1950s and a glowing mid-century-modern light fixture. The song in the background, Fool by indie artist Perfume Genius, is a 2014 throwback to 1970s soul.

White letters appear on-screen: “I need a recipe that says, I like you, but want to play it cool.”

This is the prompt the young man has fed into ChatGPT. The camera pulls back to reveal the old building’s brick exterior. More text appears. It’s the chatbot's reply, in the style of rolling film credits.

“Here's the move: Lemon-Garlic Butter Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes,” it begins. After laying out the recipe, the bot comes through with the encouraging words of a coach or buddy: “Above all, don’t sweat it. You got this.”