Google's AI ad reimagines the Declaration of Independence

Google released a patriotic commercial on America's 250th Independence Day, imagining Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin collaborating on the Declaration of Independence using Google Workspace. Titled with the tagline 'Group project, but make it 1776,' the ad shows the fictional founders using Google Docs for edits, Google Calendar and Google Meet for remote meetings, and e-signatures to finalize the document. AI tools also appear: Gemini takes meeting notes, the 'help me visualize' feature is used to test national seal designs, and the founders consult Gemini before rejecting King George III's document access request. The tone is comedic and self-aware, with Sam Adams quipping, 'Can we settle this over beers?' Notably, the ad avoids suggesting AI improved the actual text of the Declaration — a contrast to earlier controversial Google ads. Reaction was mixed: YouTube and Instagram comments were largely positive, while Bluesky users called it 'cringey' and 'stunningly tone deaf.' Historian Angus Johnston remarked it is 'amazing how little of this is actually AI,' adding, '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.'