Anthropic’s newest ad is creeping people out

TechCrunch AI · 1 day ago

Anthropic released an advertisement featuring disturbing imagery including burning houses, surveillance, homelessness, cemeteries, and mining operations paired with questions about AI trustworthiness, which drew widespread backlash on social media. The ad includes what appears to be footage from Arlington National Cemetery with the voiceover asking "Who's gonna hit the brakes if we need to?" — a choice that critics found particularly offensive and sinister. The campaign backfired despite following a familiar marketing strategy where companies position themselves as ethical alternatives by highlighting industry harms.