A Belgian startup's parody ad around a dystopian world where humans power the very AI that took their employment and purpose went viral. For some, it hit a little too close to home.
Business Insider broke down the faux commercial for a fictional company, ENERGYM, run by aged tech titans that AiCandy posted to their Instagram account (@aicandy.be).
AI versions of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman appear in the ad to explain that by 2030, humans will be short on job opportunities and purpose due to the advent of AI. Enter ENERGYM, where humans who weren't doing actual work could appear to be doing lots of work through physical exercise.
The commercial shows these unemployed, lost humans using their time to get absolutely jacked and fulfill AI's significant energy needs at the same time. The ad accurately captures the sort of tone of Musk, Bezos, and Altman in eerie fashion.
There's no surprise it resonated as AI's impacts on jobs, with Block Inc. laying off thousands last week in an embrace of the technology. With that in mind, not everyone was finding the spoof company particularly funny.
"Doesn't feel like a parody of anything really," Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy wrote on X.
There's no denying the video was a major hit, with an X repost of the video accruing over six million views, and AICandy's reel amassing over four million views on Instagram.
Viewers on social platforms compared the vision for AI to previous pop culture phenomena like "The Matrix" and an episode of "Black Mirror."
While AI harnesses tons of potential in sectors like health care, conservation, and energy, its existential threat to human workers is becoming clearer every day. It's fitting that AICandy used the technology to make a commercial showing the ascendancy of the technology in the future.
Hollywood itself is concerned by how lifelike and high-quality AI is getting, with a fear that it will rob writers and other workers of their livelihoods.
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Save $1,000 this year 💸 Concerns for jobs add to the severe energy demands mentioned in the commercial, which are unlikely to be solved by humans doing bike workouts. AI's water usage in water-scarce areas adds to the concerns with the tech.
So, while the images of this commercial might be funny to look at now, there's no guarantee that it'll be a laughing matter for much longer.
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