Smart Assistants for Smart Living: Ideology and Mythology in AI-Powered Smart Speaker Advertising

Culture, Technology, and Utopia

Myth has been defined by Barthes (1972) as signification with motivation, a false representation and erroneous belief that circulates in contemporary society. Myths function as a synonym of “ideology,” a set of beliefs and representations that sustain power relations within society (Eagleton, 1991). They mask bourgeois representations as normal or universal and help maintain the status quo (Barthes, 1972).

Levi-Strauss (1966) spoke of myth as a structure of binaries. It implies signs have meaning through connotative associations. The naturalization of historical and cultural associations shapes the ways in which individuals live their lives. Myth structures experiences, behaviors, and understandings of socio-cultural environments and collectivity. It is bound in ideological expression and perpetuates existing social conditions.

One cultural myth that has lasted is the ideal of a utopian existence. This narrative is seen within the literature, such as with Bacon's New Atlantis, in religion with More's Utopia, in philosophy with Plato's Republic, and in political science and sociology with Marx's Das Kapital. Kashima and Fernando (2020) argue that utopias are cultural constructions that may counter socio-political ideologies, as noted by Mannheim in his book Ideology & Utopia, or they may actually work in tandem depending on context. The idealizations of utopian existence share similar themes: perfection of the human condition, better quality of life, happiness, order, simplicity, and freedom (Jonas, 1981; Kashima & Fernando, 2020; Segal, 2012). Utopianism, as Levitas (1990) has stated, serves three important functions: criticism, change, and compensation. Criticism functions as a way for society to measure itself against the utopian ideal. Society also seeks out change, where it desires progress with an intended goal. And lastly, the utopian goal compensates for the current lacking by offering escapism. However, as Segal (2018) notes for [utopia] “to be effective as social criticism, any utopian vision must be concrete enough to apply to the proverbial ‘real world’ and detached enough to be truly critical. This means not mirroring reality, just being relevant to it” (para. 22). It is in this way that Barthes’ (1972) discussion of myth applies to utopianism, as “myth is reality turned inside out” (p. 117) and it is made of things that have lost historical memory.

Technological utopianism promises a better life through technological and scientific advances (Segal, 2017). It is, as stated by Jeffcote (2003), “both the engine of change and the salvation of society” (p.4). Just like with previous conceptions of utopias, technological utopias share similar cultural narratives. In addition, technological utopias offer society ways to reimagine how reality, time, and social relations are constructed (Dickel & Schrape, 2017).

The mythology that surrounds digital technology continues to be amplified as consumers use these devices as ways to show self-expression and cultural identity. Technological devices are creating new experiences and cultural practices for people, but it is people who are driving the changes. The devices that consumers incorporate into their daily lives reimagine the temporal and spatial divides of human to machine as consumers form relationships with them. As Kozinets (2019) argues, “technological creations are reflecting us, connecting us, shaped like us, shaping us, replacing us, controlling us” (p. 620). Consumers mythologize that these devices will construct new lived experiences where the device acts as a partner in the creation of that experience. As such, consumers make meaning out of the technology (Klein & Kleinman, 2002).

Building on the work of Mick and Fournier (1998), who analyzed the ways in which ideologies and myths interact with technology and culture, Kozinets (2008) concluded that technology and culture manifest as “institutionalized nodal points” (Kozinets, 2019, p. 622), where the primary nodal point is “technology as progress” (Kozinets, 2008, p. 867). It is here that technological utopia is made central, and elements of what constitutes progress become the nodes, which include benefits to humanity and social harmony. Kozinets’ (2008) semiotic square includes ideological conceptions of technological utopias/dystopias. The first three, can be best summarized favorably as “techtopian”—progress/utopia, “work machine”—work/economics, and “techspressive”—expression/pleasure, while the “green luddite” fears destruction of the natural (Kozinets, 2008, p. 868). These pairs begin to provide a lens through which consumers’ interaction with technology can be examined. Technology, such as voice assistants, offer personalized interactions, albeit that personalization is only gained through digital surveillance of the user (Turow, 2021). It is also through this digital surveillance that a personalized advertising experience can occur (Turow, 2021).

Commercial Myth-Making

Bajde (2014) argues that technology marketing and advertising are not simply about telling consumers what the technological attributes are about a product, rather it is necessary to constitute the product as a necessary “cultural resource” (p. 17) that must be integrated into the life of the consumer. In this way, technological products are not merely functional objects, but instead are entities embodied with meaning and mythological symbolism (Bajde, 2014).

It is within the advertising campaign that a mythological structure is developed and leads to possible interpretations by consumer audiences (Crockett & Davis, 2016). Dubbed commercial mythmaking (Crockett & Davis, 2015), it describes the process by which commercial narratives, such as advertising, present ideologies and identities which in turn are constructed as a part of what the brand offers (Dyer, 1982; Leiss et al., 2005).

The focus of advertising, then, is to show the user an experience; an imaginary world where the product presents new ways of engaging in social practice. This is equally true of technology advertising, where the narrative is less about attributes and more about social interaction and experiences. Aguado and Martinez (2007) discuss this in their study of the advertising of the mobile phone. They note that mobile phone advertising constructs socio-symbolic imagery to provide consumers with new approaches to social practice. Pajnik and Lesjak-Tušek (2002) highlight the ideological nature of advertising and discourses promising new identities and desired lifestyles in mobile phone advertisements. Shields (2001) makes a similar argument about Apple computer consumers. This is furthered by Livingstone (2011), where he maintains that Apple has created experiences of associations and meaning-making in their advertising.

Yet, as Dempsey (2009) noted in a study of technology ads in Wired magazine, many of these technology advertisements have an undercurrent of “technological elitism” (p. 44), where white, middle-aged men have been the primary focus. Hobson (2008) has argued that media as “cultural scripts” […] “have constructed a racial ideology about technology” (p.114). One that suggests that whiteness is about progress and enlightenment. In a more recent study, Persaud et al. (2018) highlighted the gendered nature of technology advertisements with under-representation and stereotyping of women as well as under-representation of minorities and the elderly. Women in the ads were typically sexualized or objectified, as was the device itself. Women as well as men fell into gendered stereotypical roles—women as passive and men as having more control, and the advertisements promoted heteronormativity. When racial minorities were shown, they were more often Black and in secondary, nonspeaking roles. These findings supported Dempsey's (2009) previous conclusions of BIPOC men and women shown only in supporting roles in technology advertising.

Technology has been framed as the promised land that will bring about a more egalitarian society, social harmony, and unity, order, and simplicity to many lives. Advertising centers itself behind technology as the utopian answer to that which plagues us: our need for leisure, our need for human contact, our need for structure and organization, and our need for satisfaction and contentment. However, this may not include all lives equally, as the myth of a technological utopia may include social barriers. The technology narrative behind voice-controlled smart speakers which has already been adopted by millions of people is yet to be studied, and thus is the focus of this study.

Technology as Human

In smart speaker commercials, we see anthropomorphizing of technology. This is done in different ways. Through frequent use of humor and emotional appeals to make the technology look more “natural” and “human” and the use of pets, children, women, and families to build an emotional connection with the technology. Also, the presentation of speakers as human-like with a “body,” and “voice,” and by placing the smart speakers at the center of caring, communication, connection, and relationships whether it is with friends, parents, or elderly grandparents. Woods (2018) previously had raised the issue of gender stereotyping and “digital domesticity” in objects such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa smart speakers. This is also present in the commercials where we see the leveraging of feminine persona of care and nurturing to make the smart speakers more attractive and less intimidating to potential buyers and obscure concerns of data collection and surveillance in private spaces such as homes.

In the commercials, we often see individuals in various emotional or humorous situations being helped or rescued by the polite “always ready to help” “intelligent assistant,” Alexa, Siri, or the Assistant. All they needed to do was “just ask,” and the assistants would respond immediately. In the social reality constructed by the commercials, everyone can afford an assistant to take care of all needs at home and work, not just those with power and resources.

A commercial that is illustrative of this theme is the “Alexa's body” commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxNxqveseyI). This commercial was shown during the Super Bowl LV in 2021, a major sporting event in the United States with an audience of 96.4 million (NFL, 2021). The commercials played during this event have gained a sort of cultural significance with many trade publications commenting on them and choosing winners and losers of this very expensive advertising space (5.5 million USD for a 30 s spot). The Alexa body commercial is a 60 s spot.

The advertisement begins with the visually literal presentation of Alexa, a virtual assistant AI described as “perfect,” a description that is echoed in its flawless round shape. The main Black female actor in this advertisement, one of several observers of this perfect virtual assistant, immediately goes into an increasingly escalating sexual reverie about the services that can be provided by Alexa, from the mundane “How many tablespoons are in a measuring cup?” to more sexually suggestive ones. In her imagination, the cool round piece of flawless technology morphs into a warm romantically suggestive human in the form of the well-known and well-muscled actor, Michael B. Jordan. Alexa here serves as a metaphor for a perfect lover. The fantasy continues to escalate as the woman imagines increasingly the services that Alexa in the form of Jordan can perform. When asked to dim the lights, Jordan removes his t-shirt and throws it over a lamp, exposing his strong muscular body. In another scene, the woman asks Jordan to add bath oils to the shopping list, and in yet another, the woman asks Jordan to read what appears to be a romantic novel in the form of an audiobook. We see a foaming bathtub and candlelit bathroom signifying romance and sex. We also see Jordan sitting with the woman in a bathtub surrounded by candles reading a passage, “I was in his hand, I was being changed …” After that the woman sighs in a particular way, which is a sign associated with orgasm. We also see the use of “wet” symbols in the advertisement such as the sprinklers which she is asking Jordan to turn on. While the sexualized progression advances with Alexa made flesh builds, a sub-theme presents the main character's partner/husband as outside of her fantasy. He appears threatened as her imaginings unfold and she acts toward him with growing indifference, he complains “things are getting way too wet around here.” The wife/partner throughout achieves a kind of intimacy with Alexa that is exclusive and transformative and beyond the understanding of her partner. The intimacy created is beyond what a conventional human partner might understand or provide.

In this commercial, we see Black individuals being given prominence, a community that has been historically underrepresented in commercials. They have speaking roles and are represented as successful upper-class individuals. However, we also see stereotyping and minimization of black body through its sexualization and objectification (Bristor et al., 1995). Black male bodies in American media and culture have been represented in contrast to dominant white masculinity (hooks, 1992, 2004). They have been constructed as “undesirable” through their association with aggression and criminality and “desirable” through their representation as supermales with impressive bodies and their association with athletes, musicians, and artists (hooks, 1992, 2004). The representation of Black body in the commercial, even though presented as desirable, helps to further normalize and universalize the dominant white ideologies within American culture about Black bodies rather than challenge them. It constructs a social reality in which Black individuals have made significant racial and economic progress and thus one can gloss over the fact that Black bodies are targets of white supremacists and police brutality. One can also gloss over the fact that AI's biased design is reinforcing racism and discrimination against Blacks and continuing the oppression they face (Katyal, 2019; Noble, 2018).

The commercial also uses Michael B. Jordan celebrity status to connect consumers desires and aspirations to the new smart speaker technology. We see the use of contemporary cultural icons in other commercials too. Celebrities such as Cardi B, Rebel Wilson, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Gordon Ramsey, Ellen Degeneres, and Portia DeRossi, and many others can be seen in smart speaker advertising. For example, in the commercial titled “Alexa loses her voice” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P77AYt3QIM) cultural icons are brought in to take the place of Alexa while the Amazon team frantically fixes the system. While this may seem like a useful solution, the users of the Echo are very disturbed by the results they receive from the human celebrities as the results do not match their expectations. They are given advice that is sarcastic, caustic, or belittling in tone, or they are told that they cannot connect to the music or people they seek because it is either not known or the person is “tied up.” The Alexa advertisements also show consumers that mere humans and real human intimacy have their limits. People are changeable, emotional, and pose uncomfortable questions or scenarios. Technology, especially those that make one's life easier, does not have these weaknesses. In this respect, a virtual assistant is superhuman. It is all powerful and all satisfying, even providing services that are not necessary but still desirable because of its flawless form, personalization, and utter dedication to fulfilling the user's needs.

Technology as Self-Expression and Happiness

In the commercials, we also see smart speakers being promoted as something that enables people to express themselves, helps them relax, and feel happy. Or even to just escape. The smart speakers can “make holidays more magical” “set the mood for a thrilling evening” “play music upstairs, downstairs, or any stairs in between,” and “create a magical moment.” People can listen to stories, play music, listen to audiobooks, and podcasts to elevate their mood.

An example of this can be seen in Apple's 2018 commercial, “Welcome Home” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k70OczvX45k). The ad opens depicting a harried and tired woman, played by FKA Twigs, a well-known British singer-songwriter, who is commuting to her small apartment home. She suffers the quotidian indignities of trying to alight from the back of a crowded elevator, crowded streets navigated on a rainy day, and the indifference of fellow commuters. She arrives home tired, dispirited, looking down, and defeated. This down state lasts until she asks Siri, her virtual assistant, to play a song to make her feel better. The song opens a fantasy world of satisfied self-expression in which she completely controls even the size and configuration and color of her otherwise tiny apartment. The technology offers a shift in the spatial and temporal boundaries of her reality. This she does against the beat of the music in beautifully choreographed steps that culminate with her creating a new and adventurous second self who she happily dances with. The ad ends with her collapsing on the couch and her room returning to its original narrow dimensions. She has endured a demoralizing day in an indifferent “real” world, but she has found relief and happiness and maybe even new possibilities thanks to limitless possibilities provided by Siri.

The semiotic display of “reality turned inside out” (Barthes, 1977) is evident as her space evolves as the music shifts, which is only made possible through her personal device. It is the embodiment of escapism and contentment that Levitas (1990) proposes is necessary for a utopian existence. The intimacy and personalization that Siri provides in this space are akin to offering a therapeutic remedy after a long day.

Similarly, in another Apple commercial from 2020, “The magic of mini feat. Tierra Whack” (https://youtu.be/0dUswys8s7k), we see technology at the center of elevation of mood, self-expression, and embracing of one's uniqueness. In this commercial, we see Tierra Whack, a Black female rapper, known for her studio albums. The commercial opens with Tierra Whack looking sad, her sigh further underscores her mood. Then we see her on the street where we also see shops with Christmas lights and decorations, and a doll in the form of a snowman, all signifying the winter holiday season. However, Tierra is melancholic; further expressed through dark streets, the rapper's expressions, her being alone, and a long gray blanket scarf that drags on the ground as she walks through the streets. Tierra puts her earbuds in and starts singing, we hear echoes of the words “down, down, down,” all of which tells the viewers that she is feeling low, a state that many might relate to during the holiday season which was affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We know that she is walking to her apartment as we see her open a door and enter an apartment. She unwraps her scarf and hangs it. Soon we see her moving towards an Apple HomePod, but now her clothes begin to get brighter, an indication of a brighter mood. She says to the HomePod “Hey Siri, turn it way up.” We then see magic sparks, and a transformation of the older bigger model of HomePod into a new mini HomePod, an introduction to a new magical product that has the power to transform someone and put them in a happy state of mind. As the music plays, a mini version of Tierra with red hair, wearing a bright pink t-shirt, and a black pant with protruding spiral design emerges from behind the mini HomePod and looks at Tierra and says, “why you so sad” and then advises her to focus on her thoughts and ideas and stop trying to please others. Tierra is now dancing in her apartment with her mini version on her shoulder, her clothes have changed from a bland gray outfit to a colorful patterned jacket. She also has dramatic makeup with big eyelashes, jewelry, and a fiery red wig. She is her happy self, and as she raps, she expresses, “I don’t want to be judged, I just want to be me” which is repeated in the commercial. We see a message of uniqueness, self-expression, and creativity conveyed through the advertising. We also see a connection with the Black community being made through lyrics in the commercial such as “even though we buy chains, we want to be free.” This commercial combines a relatable celebrity icon, feelings of isolation felt during a holiday season affected by COVID-19 pandemic, Black identity, and community seeking visibility and racial justice to connect with consumers. It's ultimately a subtle holiday commercial that aims to sell a product during the year's biggest gift-giving season with the message of change, uniqueness of one's identity, and happiness.

What is also conveyed in these commercials is that a virtual assistant can provide relief from the drab day-to-day and open a new world of possibilities. The relief the virtual assistant may provide may not be permanent, but it can make one feel better. The ideology again stresses the importance of technology in mental well-being. The world provides challenges and unhappy contexts, but useful technological objects can serve as almost magical keys for expressing individual creativity and finding happiness. Apple specifically chose two creative and self-expressive Black, female singer-songwriters to engage with consumers. This is very on-brand for Apple over the last decade or so, where many Apple products have focused on music as well as promotion to multicultural audiences. Yet, while Apple has utilized two prominent Black women as the primary figures in their ads, which counters findings in previous studies (Dempsey, 2009; Persaud et al., 2018) that Black women are secondary figures at best, they are celebrities, which supports hooks’ (1992, 2004) assertion that Black bodies are made “desirable” through their association as entertainers.

Technology as Progress

In the commercials, we also see the use of smart speakers being presented as progress as things can now be done much more easily than before. With just a voice command one can do a variety of tasks, connect home and outside, and have better control over one's surroundings and life. The words “easy” “simple” and “control” frequently appear in the commercials. We see pitches such as “hands-free speaker you control with your voice, with a built-in smart home hub” and “Call who you need without missing a beat—or putting down your coffee. Just ask Alexa to stay in touch with calling or room-to-room intercom, plus play music, control smart home.”

Amazon's “Life Before Alexa” campaign which juxtaposes old and new illustrates the “technology as progress” theme well. For example, in the “Life Before Alexa—Egypt commercial” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zMQqldjWWg), in the opening scene, we see a mummy being prepared for burial in a stereotypically ancient Egyptian tomb scene. The character wrapping the corpse suddenly pulls the last bit of wrapping material from a spool held by an assistant. He then tells his scribe, Alexios, who is carving hieroglyphics on a wall to add “toilet paper” to the list. This prompts others in the scene to add other items such as “camel milk” “carrot cake,” and the like. The frustrated scribe, unable to keep up, drops his hammer and chisel in disgust and walks away. The advertisement conveys the idea that life is easier with an automated virtual assistant. To use anything else rejects progress and returns one almost to the stone age. The tone is humorous, but the argument is that one is behind the times if one is not using Alexa. Here, we see the Egyptian tomb being used as a metaphor for the ancient and dead.

In another “Life Before Alexa” ad that starred Ellen Degeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLtoI-wSRGA), which was released during Super Bowl 2020, Ellen and Portia are leaving the house and Ellen asks Alexa to “turn down the thermostat”. She then turns to Portia and asks, “What do you think people did before Alexa?”. The scene then turns to several vignettes throughout the ages: Alexis in the nineteenth century who must turn down the heat by two degrees so she throws a log out of a window, Alexei, who is a medieval court jester, is asked to tell a joke, Alex, an early twentieth century newspaper boy is asked what the day's news is and he replies “I don’t know, it's all fake”, and lastly Al, a westward explorer who is asked to play his companions favorite song on his jug.

Just as with the previous ad, while the tone is again very humorous, the message is profound that progress is not only necessary, but that one would be lost without it. The mythology and ideology embedded in the ad are that progress is the engine pushing civilization in a single forward direction to an ever better and brighter future (Jeffcote, 2003). The ideology of constant progress is a persistent utopian myth inherent in American mainstream thought and a constant theme in product promotions. Things improve and thereby improve our lives is the general message (Segal, 2017), due to a reimagining of temporal and social conditions (Dickel & Schrape, 2017). It is one that is unquestioned despite the unintended negative consequences arising from technological “progress.” Yet, progress may not be marketed to all as Amazon continuously uses white bodies to represent its products, once again alluding to the concept of “technological elitism” proposed by Dempsey (2009) and Hobson (2008).

Technology as Productivity

The smart speaker commercials also focus on productivity, doing work faster, better, more easily and more efficiently. The simple idea conveyed in the advertisements is that smart speakers provide a time-saving, labor-saving answer to handling tasks that are either too numerous or unpleasant or simply impossible to do without the help of the smart speakers. The advertisements draw from American society's obsession with productivity and the myth that time must not be wasted and must be used to achieve something and enhance performance.

Technology as productivity is captured well in Google's commercial slogan, “A million things made easier.” One can set timers and alarms, find flights, shop, order pizza, get directions, make video calls, prepare meals faster, start the washing machine and vacuum the floor, all with just a voice command. All this can be done “on your phone, in your car, and around the house.” In all, “there are more than 1 million Actions” one can take with the Assistant.

An example focusing on productivity can be seen in this Google commercial, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsDm-n7_rAc featuring Kevin Durant, Sia, and John Legend. The ad presents a series of unpleasant tasks followed by the punch line “let Google do it,” or a similar expression, all while Bob Dylan's “Wigwam”—a song with no lyrics played by a quintessential American singer-songwriter—plays in the background. The individual tasks are unpleasant for different reasons; there are too many things to do, the job is a bother, the chore can be better done by a virtual assistant or a programable service. The tone relies on humor to show the wide range of services that Google can provide. The ad, along with the music, highlights the American dream of increased productivity through better living through technology. Productivity, is a theme that is similar to progress, where Kozinet's (2008) work/machine, a powerful American value, helps to build American progress. As Porter (2010) notes, technology has helped people work smarter, not necessarily harder.

A similar focus on productivity and better living through technology can also be seen in yet another Google Home advertisement (https://youtu.be/OsXedJq1aWE), where a family is able to complete a variety of tasks with the help of the smart speaker. In the advertisement, we see a typical morning ritual of a busy family. Here, we also see an American cultural archetype of a perfect family with a husband and a wife and two children, a boy and girl. The textbook idyllic vision of the all-American nuclear family of days gone by. We see the speaker is being asked to play a morning playlist, wake up children, change dinner reservations, text someone to let them know of change in plans, turn the lights on, help with the homework, enquire about a shipped package, connect to other devices like the television, provide traffic information, and others. The family is able to accomplish all these tasks effortlessly because of the Assistant, who is at the center of their life connecting and communicating everything seamlessly. The advertisement connects with viewers who are parents, and who find themselves juggling a variety of tasks in the morning before they leave for work and their children leave for school. Even as Americans lives become faster-paced, smart assistants can help families relax into their routine and maintain a semblance of order and serenity, a utopian dream of simpler days.

Promoting Smart Speakers

Advertisers promoted smart speakers by humanizing them, showing them as sign of progress, as a means of becoming more productive, and as something that can help individuals better express themselves and find happiness. The three brands used similar persuasive marketing techniques and appeals such as humor and feminine persona to convince audiences to buy an intrusive AI technology to put in their home. Even though there were some similarities in how the smart speakers were promoted across the brands, one also notices how each brand tries to distinguish itself through unique market positioning and branding. For example, in the technology market, consumers associate Google with search and information, Amazon with shopping, and Apple with music. This unique association is part of the companies’ brands and has been developed through conscious advertising and marketing efforts. We see this positioning or focus a part of the smart speaker commercials for the brands even though all three can handle similar tasks.

Advertising is a carrier of myths and ideologies. In this study, we identify four ways in which technology-related myths and ideologies are perpetuated. The observations made fit within the broader technological utopias, as discussed by scholars (Kashima & Fernando, 2020; Kozinets, 2008, 2019; Segal, 2012). Our observations of technology as productivity follows the work/machine trope, progress follows the techtopian trope, and happiness following the techspressive trope noted by Kozinets (2008). However, we also found a new representation of technology, that is, technology as human. The anthropomorphizing of technology reflects technological advancement, one with a voice, a strong sense of intimacy and personalization, and thus much closer to being human-like. It is also allowing for the creation of the “perfect human,” the same that is desired within the utopian ideal.

Stern (1995) writes, myths “are as old as humanity, yet constantly renewed to fit contemporary life” (p. 183). Yet, in order to exist in the new utopia with humanized technology, one must give up freedom, control, and privacy to the technology that helps people live more simply and with more happiness and order. It is a mythological paradox, the desire for progress makes people strive to incorporate ever greater technology into their lives, the more human-like the better, and the advertisements naturalize the language of progress to the consumer. At the same time, the advertisements erase history and cast mirrors of present and future (Barthes, 1972), so people will ignore that they must give up privacy to enjoy the benefits of progress.

In the commercials, we do not see individuals who are technophobic or resist technology because they see technology as destroying traditional and more natural ways of life. Instead, the embrace of technology is used to promote more natural ways of life, utopian ways of life. This suppression of course gives a false sense to the viewers that everyone is excited about the latest technology and is ready to adopt it to enhance their life and hence they should too.

Naturalizing and Universalizing Surveillance

The commercials are not only promising a utopian existence, they are also helping to naturalize and universalize the idea of “always on” and “always listening” devices in one's home. They are not just in homes; they are also in many other new spaces such as college dorms and doctors’ offices. With their usage expanding, serious privacy and other legal and ethical concerns have risen as these devices listen to personal conversations of their users and help companies amass an enormous amount of intimate and personal data about their users; data that can also be sliced and diced and sold to other companies for their usage (Burkett, 2018; Pfeifle, 2018; Woods, 2018).

It is important to note that these “Big Tech” companies (Amazon, Apple, and Google) have already been amassing the personal information of their users on their platforms for several years now. The voice-assisted “smart home” devices allow them to collect unique data in the form of human voices, which in a data-driven world is both currency and power (Turow, 2021). Their devices are also challenging the notion of home as “private” as they listen to personal conversations within the confines of one's home. Private spaces like “home” have now been opened to corporations who know what is in our fridge, oven, and dishwashers, and are ready to sell us more things. As Woods (2018) and Turow (2021) have noted they have entered the home and are collecting intimate data and engaging in data surveillance for capitalistic market gains. We see privacy concerns being obscured in almost all smart speaker advertising. In only a couple of Apple commercials, as in the advertising description below the commercial, there was mention of privacy “It delivers room-filling sound. It's an intelligent assistant. And it helps control your smart home. All while keeping things private and secure” (Apple, 2020).

Obscuring Social Reality

Advertising has been criticized for manipulating people, promoting consumerism and materialism, selling people things that they do not need, perpetuating stereotypes, and presenting a personal world of consumption that is full of possibilities and no social problems (Leiss et al., 2005; Pollay, 1986). Commercials for smart speakers continue to follow many of these similar scripts of the past rather than challenge them.

In the advertisements, gendered and racial themes continued to follow historical stereotypes and tropes, while others were subverted. There is also very little representation of certain multicultural audiences, namely Asian and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic/Latinos. When shown in the advertisements, they were shown along with other groups. This was surprising as it is not reflective of populations in the United States, where Hispanic/Latino populations make up 19% of the population and Asian and Pacific Islanders 6%. They also have a significant portion of the buying power, $1.9 trillion and $1.3 trillion, respectively (Melancon, 2021; USA Facts, 2021). Black representation, however, seems to have improved in terms of prominence in the advertisements especially given the history of marginalization of Black people in advertising. Yet, the representations, while more numerous, still objectified Black bodies or highlighted Black celebrities. Perhaps the greater numbers of Black individuals in the advertisements over the last couple of years is a result of Black social justice movements following the death of George Floyd. This moment of reckoning has also hit the advertising industry which is working toward being more inclusive.

Class was also obscured in many of the commercials, where upper-middle class and wealth was consistently shown. The commercials promoted the idea that with smart speakers’ individuals can have personal assistants, home security, and more personal time, something that until now has only been reserved for the upper classes of society. While it is no surprise that advertisements will present social status and cultural membership (Berger, 2021), the very premise of the smart speaker is to add ease and productivity to all; to further promote cultural unity and communication. Yet, it appears that perhaps this is still only reserved for the upper echelons of society, and that the myth of a potential technological utopia for all is really just that, a myth.

As Barthes (1972) has argued, “Myth is reality turned inside out” (p. 117). It changes memory, it corrupts, it gives reality new meaning. So, in a period of social disconnection and divisiveness, political upheaval, economic uncertainty, and over—apportioned time, smart speaker advertising, allow people to reimagine reality, time, and social relations (Dickel & Schrape, 2017). They can distort reality. It leads people into a space where they can be a member of a more leisurely class, full of knowledge and hope. Smart speakers are, truly, the salvation of society.

The commercials for smart speakers show a multicultural world where there is no social conflict and everyone is living a better life with the help of their AI-powered devices. Yet, social conflicts are very much present and we are living in a world where biases in AI-technology are reproducing social inequities, oppression, and racism.

Lastly, while advertising functions to sell products, it can also incorporate important issues of our time, spark public debate, and challenge representational and ideological norms. Advertisers have the opportunity to redefine the audiences that they market to, and to rethink who uses technology and for what purposes. Market studies need to focus more on issues of diversity in the consumer marketplace and the ways in which the intersections of social and cultural identifiers are being misrepresented in advertising as a whole.

Limitations and Future Study

In spite of privacy and ethical concerns, the use of the voice assisted technologies and AI is likely to grow through marketing efforts, and like other technological innovations, will transform the way people interact with others and express themselves. In fact, Amazon Ring has already developed a home security drone, which while keeping a house secure, will also collect data, and likely recommend products from Amazon. In addition, AI will continue to affect individual and social relationships, transform spaces, give arguably more control over environments and lives, help to be more productive, and ultimately help in the development of yet another sophisticated technology.

As AI develops beyond the behavioral algorithms that are more common in today's devices and learns on its own, there is a need for critical and cultural scholars to explore AI's larger impact on culture and society. Future researchers can study different groups of consumers and see how they receive these advertisements through audience reception studies. They can also study how these advertisements shape the identities of individuals and groups.

This study is qualitative in nature, so limited in terms of generalizability. Generalizability was not the goal of this study; rather the goal was to provide a deeper understanding of commercial mythmaking through semiotic analysis. Such a study is necessary in order to examine cultural messages more acutely, something that cannot be done in depth with a quantitative study.