Two and a half centuries after the Declaration of Independence was signed, Google is running a commercial that imagines Thomas Jefferson and company using its productivity suite. The spot, tagged “Group project, but make it 1776,” shows Jefferson getting a text from Ben Franklin mid-draft, then jumping into a Google Docs edit session, scheduling a virtual meeting via Calendar and Meet (with all attendees on mute and cameras off), and wrapping up with e-signatures before the fireworks start.

The ad leans into AI, but in a relatively subdued way compared to some recent tech campaigns. The fictional founders use Google’s “help me visualize” tool to test different animals for the national seal, Gemini takes meeting notes, and the chatbot advises on whether to decline King George III’s document access request. The tone is knowingly playful—Sam Adams asks, “Can we settle this over beers?”—and the AI push is far less heavy-handed than the infamous earlier ad where a father used Gemini to ghostwrite a fan letter for his daughter. Still, the footage itself carries that slightly too-smooth, uncanny look of AI-generated video.

Viewer reactions are split. Comments on YouTube and Instagram are mostly upbeat, but on Bluesky the response has been sharp. Critics called the ad “cringey” and “stunningly tone deaf,” with the AI angle drawing the most fire. Historian Angus Johnston noted, “Even in a corny fantasy joke, it’s impossible to make the case that AI is a useful tool for political organizing, writing, or human collaboration.” His point: the ad’s own premise shows how little of the collaboration actually relies on AI.

Source: TechCrunch