The Superbowl is coming to the Bay Area, and so are film crews for the extravagant commercials. We had a big production in my neighborhood, and we all had to move our cars, which was quite inconvenient. But the buzz it brought was worth the pain.
A fake cable car was parked on the steepest of hills, grip trucks full of equipment lined the street, crew members worked from dawn to dusk, and cops guarded intersections. Rumors circulated that it was a Leonardo di Caprio movie, and when we saw a trailer at the bottom of the hill, I actually brushed my hair before leaving the house.
This must be costing millions of $$$, we all discussed. So it was a letdown to hear it'll be a commercial with a football player and a lady who becomes so strong from eating Dannon's Greek yogurt Oikos that she pushes the cable car up the 45 degree hill.
Even the kids wondered why a company would expend such resources on a mere commercial. Why didn't they use AI? Couldn't they punch directions into a computer: "Show trolley car on steep hill in quintessential San Francisco neighborhood. Football player tosses yogurt to people on sidewalk..." Then AI would take it from there and after a few revisions, the visuals would be good enough.
The issue of REGULATION came to mind. Sure, there are efficient ways to execute and produce tasks, events and products. But then workers lose their incomes and productions lose their glimmer and glamour.
One example of a regulated environment is at Spain's Chamartin Station, where one cannot buy a ticket for a high-speed regional train from a ticket machine, but instead must buy them from a civil servant. How inefficient. This regulation resulted in us being pushed onto a train the next day, thereby making us stay in Madrid for one night. Quelle dommage! This caused a magical evening walking through a dynamic city filled with shoppers of all ages, gardens sparkling in evening lights, lively historic plazas, and dinner in a cafe that espoused no wi-fi because mojitos let you socialize better. It also provided jobs for clerks who reviewed passports for high-speed train travelers.
Perhaps such regulations could assist our culture in the U.S. as we venture toward a horizon of software taking more jobs.
Did the commercial production company consider using AI instead of hiring all the people in San Francisco?
Reviewing the photos of the film/video crew in our 'hood, one can see that it consisted mostly of males. I'd say 90%. Curious. Do we think that a production run by a crew of women costing this amount of resources would have executives approve the budget if there were an AI alternative that were more EFFICIENT? I'll stay tuned for that answer, but I'm prepared with a hypothesis.
We always watch the Superbowl, and now that our historic building might be featured for a half-second, I'll even keep the volume on for the commercials this year. Glad they didn't use AI for this one.
11/1/25