Robots had a starring role in at least five brand ads played during the Super Bowl. The commercials mark a creative trend that “reflects the mood and anxieties of a society confronted with new, life-altering technology and artificial intelligence,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
But AI scientists who I’ve interviewed remind us that the ads also demonstrate why the robot apocalypse might be overblown. Good leaders won’t be replaced anytime soon. Specifically, the ads point out that there’s one unique human quality that no robot can replace–emotion.
In “RoboChild,” an Intuit TurboTax ad for its live human assistance feature, a child-like robot is asked what it wants to be when it grows up.
“I would like to be a TurboTax live CPA,” it responds.
A woman leans down and breaks the bad news: “RoboChild, all TurboTax Live CPAs are human beings with real emotions. I’m sorry, but you’re never going to be emotionally complex enough for that job.”
In a funny twist that speaks volumes about its limits the robot says, “I’m sad,” and launches into a bizarre laugh. We’re told the robot is “still perfecting emotion.”
According to AI scientists, robots will never perfect human emotion because they don’t have human emotion. Advantage–human.
Dr. Kai-Fu Lee recently made news on recent episode of 60 Minutes by predicting that AI might replace 40% of jobs in the U.S. within 15 years. I’ve spoken to Dr. Lee, too. According to Lee, AI will replace “repetitive” tasks but new jobs that are created created will require the very skills that make us uniquely human. Those skills include the ability to build trust, rapport, empathy, collaboration, and to ignite the imagination. In other words, the skills that make great leaders great.
I was recently invited to speak to a group of wealth advisors for one of the world’s largest financial institutions. While “robo-advisors” use sophisticated algorithms to help investors decide how to allocate their retirement savings, they lack one critical quality—the human touch. The most successful advisors are those who have the ability to build deeper, meaningful relationships with their clients.
Relationships still matter. Another Super Bowl ad for Michelob Ultra showed What Robots are Missing Out On. The ad starts with a humanoid robot running faster than joggers up a hill, hitting a golf ball further than humans, cycling faster and knocking a punching bag nearly off its hinge. But in the final scene, the robot is standing in the rain looking through the window of a pub. It sees a group of friends, laughing, drinking beers, and enjoying each other’s company. The ad concludes: “It’s only worth it, if you can enjoy it.”
The ad makes a point. People rely on technology to make their lives better, but they prefer the companionship of real people. Real people are exactly who Verizon had in mind when they released their Super Bowl ad campaign showing real stories of real NFL stars who owe their lives to first responders.
Verizon’s campaign, The Team That Wouldn’t Be Here, was a fan favorite according to USA Today’s Ad Meter. The survey shows that ads which had an emotional appeal performed the best. In one spot Chargers head coach, Anthony Lynn, is reunited with the first responders who saved his life in 2005 after being hit by a drunk driver. Lynn, who walking across a street, was thrown fifty feet in the air. Lynn says, “They said I had to have some angels with me that night to survive, Lynn tells the rescue workers. I believe you guys are angels.”
Great leaders will always be admired. These ads carry a lesson we should all remember. We use technology, but we don’t admire it. We admire leaders who build a culture that puts people first like the late Southwest founder, Herb Kelleher, or Vanguard founder, John Bogle. We use technology, but it doesn’t inspire us. We’re inspired by leaders who ignite our imagination and help us to dream of a better world, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As Dr. Lee told me, people don’t want to hear a pep talk from a robot. They don’t want to have a relationship with one or make memories with it. Leaders have always played a critical role in society. We need great leaders now, perhaps more than ever. Lee says we can survive and thrive in the world of AI if we remember what makes us human. The new crop of robot ads are helpful reminders.