It doesn’t take much to trigger people on social media these days. But has Apple really gone too far with its "crush" advert?
The US tech giant, keen to demonstrate how much creativity is crammed into its new ultra-thin iPad Pro, has released an advert showing a collection of traditional creative artefacts being crushed in an industrial press.
But it seems that witnessing items like musical instruments, arcade games and even paint cans being destroyed by a crusher was a bit much for many social media users. Many prominent personalities also weighed in on the controversial new advert, as you can see in the video below.
Many people in the creative community felt that Apple’s new ad was insensitive to the challenges they currently face as generative AI gains momentum.
One commentator described it as being a “perfect metaphor for today’s creative dark age,” particularly since it compresses our physical reality into a “soulless device” controlled by a multi-trillion-dollar corporation.
Actor Hugh Grant described Apple’s ad scenario as "The destruction of the human experience. Courtesy of Silicon Valley".
Some also pointed out the irony, given that 40 years ago Apple Macintosh released an ad for its first PC, stating that “1984 won’t be like 1984” while seemingly mocking the dystopian future that its key rival would apparently create.
Apple's new iPad Pro is fully equipped for a more power-hungry AI future thanks to its new chip called “M4”. This chip could also play a role in Apple’s future AI developments, some of which will be announced at its Developers Conference on June 10, AFP reported.
"We see generative AI as a very key opportunity across our products," chief executive Tim Cook said this week.
Watch the full iPad "crush" advert below:
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