In December 1995, Coca-Cola released its iconic “Holidays Are Coming” advertisement, quickly accumulating popularity due to its nostalgic music and unmistakable light-up red trucks. Since then, the corporation has made a tradition of remaking this advertisement to capture the magic of each new holiday season. However, a wrench was recently thrown into this tradition—this year, the advertisement was generated by artificial intelligence. For many, the AI-generated visuals felt jarring or unsettling; uncanny golden retrievers and soulless polar bears have a tendency to unnerved viewers. For others, meanwhile, the AI visuals went entirely unnoticed.
Plenty of consumers, particularly older generations, cannot tell AI-generated work from creative work made by humans. For megacorporations looking to cut costs, this seems like an unconditional win. Although it’s undeniable that artificial intelligence lowers expenditures—it increases efficiency in menial tasks and eliminates human error vastly—it only ends up harming both consumers and employers in the long term.
The most obvious drawback of AI is that it is severely impersonal and by definition inhuman. Countless companies have implemented AI into their customer service and advertising, but campaigns have been increasingly falling flat due to the highly personal nature of these fields. Senior Ishika Pondicherry of Marlboro feels that incorporating AI into customer service via chatbots and helplines makes businesses lose a connection with their customers.
“The reason why so many people are opting for companies like Mint Mobile over T-Mobile or Verizon is because you have that connection with a person rather than just another AI-powered chatbot,” Pondicherry said. “Get rid of the robots, let’s bring back people.”
AI-centered advertising, as seen in this year’s Coca-Cola advertisement, struggles for similar reasons. Art and writing created by AI are frequently criticized as soulless and, more often than not, plainly disturbing. Senior Diana Xiao of Marlboro, a prospectivefuture graphic designer, believes that the point of marketing and advertising is to connect with audiences. AI’s fundamental inability to be “human” is exactly what prevents their advertisements from succeeding, especially with younger generations.
“Consumers will also feel like you put no effort into [the ads] since they’re all AI-generated,” said Xiao. “It’s also an insult to consumers—it makes them think, like, ‘you only care about making money.’”
Designers like Xiao are facing severe blows from businesses that believe their talent is replaceable. Other careers like accountants, market research analysts and secretaries are facing the threat of AI as well. It seems like a simple solution to supplant these workers and lower spending; In the end, though, the economy relies on low unemployment rates. A market oversaturated with AI workers simply cannot sustain supply and demand.
Many believe that, if AI takes over monotonous jobs, then all humans will have better jobs. In reality, new jobs won’t spawn out of nowhere. According to CHS programming teacher Laura Gesin, workers will have to fight to prove their value over AI.
“We have to fight for our position,” said Gesin. “We can’t let companies like Meta say ‘we don’t need you.’ We have to say, ‘Oh, yes you do. Here’s what we bring to the table.’”
AI poses lots of threats to the workforce. Its lack of humanity and its effect on unemployment speaks for itself. However, since greedy corporations will inevitably use artificial intelligence for its convenience, society can work to expound on its benefits. Research into AI’s efficiency, careful monitoring of its development and ethical practices in the job market will ensure its use as a tool, not a replacement, for workers everywhere. Senior Gracyn Austin of Fair Haven, who uses AI to streamline menial tasks at her mentorship, echoes this sentiment of AI’s potential.
“I think it definitely has useful applications,” Austin said. “It’s just about finding the right places to use it.”
