Robots' Lead Role in Super Bowl Ads Hint at Tech Anxieties

TurboTax's ad was perhaps the most on the nose, reassuring viewers that a robot couldn't replace a human certified public accountant. When TurboTax's RoboChild says it wants to be a TurboTax Live CPA when it grows up, it gets shot down by a woman who says, "All TurboTax Live CPA's are human beings with live emotions. You're never going to be emotionally complex enough for that job." "I'm sad," responds RoboChild, which then laughs strangely as it tries to work out the emotion of sadness. In Sprint's ad, spokesman Paul Marcarelli asks his robot companions, "How do we tell people they get the best of both worlds with Sprint?" "How about we get two-sport legend Bo Jackson holding a mermaid playing a guitar?" one of the robots suggests. Michelob Ultra's commercial shows a humanoid robot outperforming humans at running, golf, spin class and other athletic endeavors, only to stare longingly through the window when people gather for a beer.