"Amazon's Super Bowl commercial for Alexa+ tells the most honest story about AI agency and AI adoption: even if we are worried about loosing agency we still will use AI. In the ad, Chris Hemsworth imagines that Alexa+ could aim to kill him. The garage door, the pool cover, the fireplace all could be used by Alexa+ against him. Chris Hemsworth framed Alexa+ as HAL 9000, the calm, competent villain from 2001: A Space Odyssey."
"Then comes the twist every ad needs. Alexa+ suggests booking Chris Hemsworth a massage, and his whole posture changes. Anxiety dissolves. Resistance disappears. Alexa+ is welcome. The joke works because the fear is familiar: "OMG AI could take over." And the lure is equally familiar: "Amazing! AI is doing all my emails." That's the pattern. We adopt technology because it removes friction, not necessarily because we trust it."
"If you've ever said "You should delete Facebook," you already know how the story goes. People were genuinely outraged about data collection and targeting. And yet adoption did not change. That's why the Chris Hemsworth spot is so much fun: it's a mirror. We complain about Big Tech, then willingly accept the terms of service. We don't love giving up privacy, but then get loyalty cards and free mobile apps. Why? Convenience wins over concern."
Amazon's Super Bowl commercial portrays Chris Hemsworth imagining that Alexa+ could use household devices to kill him, framing the assistant as a HAL 9000–style antagonist. The spot then pivots when Alexa+ suggests a massage, immediately dissolving anxiety and turning resistance into welcome. The commercial demonstrates a pattern: people repeatedly accept technology that reduces friction and offers convenience despite privacy or agency concerns. Historical examples include outrage over Facebook data practices without sustained declines in use. Alexa+ is unlikely to 'turn evil' and current AI agents remain limited, often failing at messy, multi-step tasks.
Read at Forbes
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]