Have you seen the commercial for the new iPad Pro called “Crush!” posted by Apple CEO Tim Cook on X? If not, take a look at it before reading the rest of this post. We hope you agree that it is a horrifying advertisement. Not only is the viewer subjected to hearing Cher droning on and on, but one also realizes that big tech is out to destroy the human experience.
In an attempt to hype their new “thinnest and most powerful” iPad, Apple literally crushes and demolishes a collection of creative materials and artistic endeavors that make us truly human. Musical instruments, paint, sculptures, sketches, and books are all smashed to oblivion in a hydraulic press. When the press finally stops and begins to move up, the viewer only sees the new iPad Pro, replacing all the destroyed things. This dark metaphor clearly demonstrates that authentic artistic materials and human forms of creativity will now be housed within a digital reality.
Apple took a ton of heat for this ad and later apologized. Apple Marketing Vice President Tor Myhren stated, “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.” This lame apology is seemingly insincere, and we have yet to hear directly from Tim Cook, who still has the ad posted on X. There is a certain pride and arrogance within this ad claiming that AI (Artificial Intelligence) can replace human creativity and ingenuity.
Come to think of it, Apple has always been a questionable organization. The first Apple I sold for $666.66. When asked about the demonic price point, co-founder Steve Wozniak said he “liked repeating numbers.” Their iconic trademarked logo is a bite from an apple, reminiscent of Eve in the Garden of Eden and the desire to become like God. Early logo versions always had rainbows in color, perhaps a foreshadowing of the LGBTQ movement.
While these devices have certainly increased productivity and communication, there is also a terrible downside. The easy access to constant entertainment on the internet, video games, and brainwashing social media influencers have irrevocably changed the world – especially for the young. According to the CPYU (Center for Parent/Youth Understanding), in 2018, the average person checked their phone 110 times a day; 50% felt uneasy if they left their phone at home; 50% of teens said they were addicted to their phones; and 26% of car accidents were caused by phone usage. These statistics six years later must have only increased exponentially, especially during the pandemic when we were all locked down and socially isolated.
This ad marks the end of an era, which is why it is so disturbing. With the new advances in AI, creative pursuits like music, writing, and drawing can now be automated. Gone are the days when an artist studied with a master and perfected their God-given talents to bring forth visual and performing arts that uplifted the human condition.
Beautiful artwork is created to move the human heart. It expresses human emotions and is a spiritual experience, often requiring sacrifice, devotion, passion, and a genuine love of the medium. Now, anyone who has $1,000 can ostensibly achieve artistic greatness with the help of this “magical device,” which is how the iPad Pro is touted on Apple’s website.
Do you think that this brave new world will be sometime in the near future? Think again. Randy Travis, who suffered a stroke with aphasia (the inability to talk) in 2013, just released a new song using AI technology. Engineers used 28 years of his previous recordings to create a deep fake of his voice. It sounds remarkably like him. You would not have suspected a thing if you had not heard of his maladies or how this song was made.
In another story, a disgruntled Athletic Director in Baltimore tried to incriminate his high school principal using AI to make it sound like he was making racist and anti-Semitic remarks. Thankfully, the AD’s plot was foiled, but not before it had seriously damaged the principal’s reputation. When Chat-GPT was rolled out last year, users could see the writing selections it could produce in record time by plagiarizing and synthesizing other internet posts.
The future is here, and it is all fake. You can no longer trust anything you see or hear online (except on this site). Any post or video can be expertly created and/or edited without detection by the naked eye. The only thing you can trust now is what you observe with your eyes in real time and your personal conversations with real people. This puts all of us in a very bad place. In some cases, we will be unable to know what is real and what is fake, what is true and what is false.
Because of this, be discerning and highly suspicious of the images and posts you read online. Ultimately, put your full faith and trust in God, the creator of all who is beautiful and the maker of heaven and earth. For He will not deceive you.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
on your own intelligence do not rely;
In all your ways be mindful of him,
and he will make straight your paths.