Google’s newest Gemini ad, “Dear Sydney,” is generating heated backlash on the internet like only a massive tech company’s out-of-touch advertisement can do. Since debuting during the Olympics, it has regenerated the conversation about the role AI will play in our daily lives—and what it could take away.

What’s in the ad? It’s narrated from the perspective of the father of a little girl who idolizes the American gold medalist track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Gemini, Google’s generative AI chatbot, first comes up when the dad searches “how to teach hurdle technique,” and a Gemini-generated list of tips appears. But the part that got everyone talking comes later, when the girl wants to write her hero a fan letter and her dad enlists Gemini’s help, typing, “Gemini, help my daughter write a letter telling Sydney how inspiring she is.”

People from all corners of the internet were quick to criticize the ad’s message. On Google-owned YouTube, comments have been turned off.

• Some say it showcases lazy parenting and dismisses the daughter’s ability to communicate authentically with someone she looks up to.
• Others lament that the ad envisions a world in which basic human skills (like writing) are taken over by AI.

A Google spokesperson said the goal of the ad was to “create an authentic story celebrating Team USA” and that it shows the chatbot can provide “a starting point, thought starter, or early draft for someone looking for ideas for their writing.”

Sound familiar? The backlash calls to mind the highly criticized ad Apple released in May for the new iPad Pro, which shows a hydraulic press crushing cameras, instruments, and art materials. While not about AI, Apple’s commercial struck a chord with people concerned that the nascent technology could undermine human creativity.

Big picture: While tech companies insist that AI’s role will be to take menial tasks off your to-do list, the response to Google’s ad suggests they haven’t managed to get that message across.—CC

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Jerome Powell says September rate cut could be “on the table.” JPow isn’t known for being direct, but he made an exception yesterday, saying an interest rate cut could come “as soon as the next meeting” in September after the Fed kept rates steady at the two-decade high they’ve been at since last July. “We’re getting closer to the point at which it’ll be appropriate to reduce our policy rate,” he said. “But we’re not quite at that point.” It’s a change from Powell’s other recent statements, which were hazier on the timing, though he did say the decision to cut rates still depends on inflation continuing to cool.

Meta’s ad revenue grows alongside AI spending. Meta’s stock jumped after-hours yesterday after the company reported that digital ad sales increased to $39.1 billion last quarter, up 22% from a year prior. This suggests that the company’s heavy investment in AI could be helping to sell personalized ads. But AI remains a major expense: Meta upped its expected capital expenditures for the year from at least $35 billion to at least $37 billion (but kept the top of the range at $40 billion). The Facebook and Instagram parent also said that it expects spending to keep growing in 2025 as it builds out its AI capabilities.

Suspected 9/11 plotter agrees to plead guilty. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others currently held in Guantanamo Bay and accused of helping him orchestrate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have agreed to a plea deal that would give them life sentences, according to the Department of Defense. If all goes to plan, the deal will avoid a trial during which prosecutors would have sought the death penalty, but the government would also have had to justify its torture of Guantanamo detainees and potentially faced having some confessions rejected as coerced.

Heavy is the head that has to figure out how to make Boeing profitable again. After a monthslong search, the incident-riddled planemaker announced its new CEO yesterday—industry vet Kelly Ortberg, who’s tasked with leading one of the biggest corporate turnarounds in history.

The news carried Boeing’s stock by a few points intraday despite the company revealing it finished Q2 $1.44 billion in the red, compared to a $149 million loss a year prior. This brings its total losses since 2020 to nearly $25 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Amid manufacturing issues, heightened regulatory scrutiny stemming from doorgate, and industry-wide supply chain constraints:

• Boeing fell short of (already low) expectations last quarter, reporting a 15% overall sales decline and a 32% drop in commercial craft deliveries.
• Operations are using up ~$1 billion each month, which executives say will persist through at least this quarter.
• The planemaker is losing money on fixed-price contracts and a defense project for Air Force One that’s behind schedule.

Good luck, Kelly: Ortberg—who previously helmed a major Boeing supplier—is expected to bring a much-needed outsider perspective to help churn out more 737 Max jets from ~25/month to 38/month by year’s end. Boeing waived its mandatory 65-year-old retirement age to bring in Ortberg and his 64-year-old wisdom.—ML

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They invented a tiny bot to reassure you that no one’s mad at you when you’re too high at Trader Joe’s. It can do other stuff, too, but one can safely assume that will be the main purpose of Friend, the AI pendant that is always listening and sends you texts.

The device, announced this week with an ad that the internet immediately clowned on, is meant to be worn around your neck like some kind of cursed amulet and features a microphone that is always on but doesn’t store recordings. Its creator, Avi Schiffmann, who raised $2.5 million from investors (including *disclosure time* Morning Brew co-founder and CEO Austin Rief), has described it as an adult Tamagotchi and a way to battle loneliness.

• Based on what it overhears, Friend sends you encouraging or playfully teasing texts through its own app, which doesn’t currently charge a subscription fee.
• Schiffmann is taking preorders for $99 a pop at friend.com, a domain he claims he paid $1.8 million to secure.

Many have tried: Schiffmann says Friend is different from other AI wearables, a category full of massive flops like Humane’s AI pin and the Rabbit R1.—MM

Americans seem to be taking their cues from the Quad City DJ’s, because they’re riding the train. Based on Amtrak’s numbers as of June, the national railroad is poised to break its annual ridership record this year, according to the Wall Street Journal. It’s had 24.1 million riders since its fiscal year started in October, 18% more than last year, and every route but two has seen an uptick in passengers.

Private trains are thriving, too, as Americans rediscover the joy of riding the rails (and seek to avoid the agony of getting stuck at the airport). High-speed rail operator Brightline, which only has trains in Florida so far, increased its revenue threefold last year, per the WSJ.