AI Commercials Are An Issue And Need To Be Regulated

AI has become a polarizing topic among many: whether it’s right to use for certain things, how much impact on the environment it has, or whether it’s okay to use in the film industry. Whatever your beliefs are on AI, we can all agree that using it for malicious or underhanded ways is not the right way to go. It is  my opinion that AI commercials are an issue and need to be regulated, as they pose many concerns about deceptive practices in advertising.

Lately, there’s been an uptick in AI ads produced by small sellers online. An overall increase in the number of AI tools for advertising as well. But these ads aren’t what they seem. All over the internet, AI ads are being used to mislead consumers into buying drop-shipped products that aren’t the same as advertised at all. Products advertised as robot dogs that can act and feel like real dogs end up being little plushes that vibrate, lamps advertised to be hand-made out of a geode turns out to be mass produced plastic garbage. This is actively going against FTC regulations which require advertisements to be truthful, evidence-backed, and non-misleading. While social media platforms like Tiktok require sellers to disclose whether their content is AI and asks for them not to be deceptive, it clearly hasn’t been successful in discouraging drop-shippers from using them maliciously. 

The use of AI in commercials has also caused a job displacement for the actors and creatives that have made careers of working in the advertisement industry. Companies such as Coca-Cola and McDonald's have tried their hand at AI commercials and have gotten a lot of backlash for it. People criticise them for replacing teams of employees with a small group of five to ten AI specialists and for their poor quality visuals. These companies replaced beloved holiday ads that once had soul and warmth with AI slop that reaches into the uncanny valley and have responded to the criticisms with an almost pride. Another concern is AI ads stealing the likeness of other actors. Actors such as Tom Hanks and Scarlett Johansson have had their likenesses stolen by unauthorized deepfakes in advertisements, with Tom Hanks having his likeness stolen to advertise “wonder drugs” and Scarlett Johansson taking legal action against an AI app that used her image and voice to advertise Lisa AI. SAG-AFTRA is currently fighting for AI regulation for advertisements and the film industry for these very reasons.

AI advertising can be very harmful in many ways, stealing people’s money and likeness through deceptive practices. There needs to be real attention on laws regulating it if this is to change, like the Protecting Consumers from Deceptive AI Act. Talking to your local government, voting for laws for regulation and against the ones that aren’t, and protesting can really make a difference if enough people take action.