As part of an ongoing marketing push around Gemini AI, Google is highlighting the practicality of its platform, showing how people from all walks of life can use Gemini in their daily lives. One advocate of the tool is A’ja Wilson, the WNBA champion and unanimous 2024 MVP who makes an appearance in Google’s Gemini for Pixel ad that launched last week.

In addition to a quick cameo in the 90-second hero spot, dubbed “Now We’re Talking,” Wilson is the sole star of a 15-second supplementary ad in which she requests nickname ideas from Gemini as she practices her jump shots in the gym. The focus of both spots is Gemini Live, a feature that allows the bot to have in-depth conversations with users via a real human voice.

Conversational ability is one of the primary pursuits among tech companies jostling for consumers in the AI arms race. Apple, for example, is reportedly overhauling Siri’s interactive functionality to catch up with competitors, according to Bloomberg.  

Marketing these features has been difficult territory to navigate, as AI providers have run into the fears of technological advancement held by the very people they’re hoping to reach. Google, for example, caused a firestorm over the summer when its Olympics ad, “Dear Sydney,” struck a nerve with viewers. It portrayed a father asking Gemini to automate his daughter’s writing of a fan letter. Google eventually pulled the ad from its TV rotation.

“The response to ‘Dear Sydney’ reinforced the importance of showcasing how AI can help people do everyday things more easily, with the user firmly in control,” a Google spokesperson told Ad Age. “In developing ‘Now We’re Talking,’ we prioritized featuring practical, real-life examples of how Gemini Live on Pixel can be a helpful assistant.” 

This is where Wilson comes in—a non-AI native getting not only practical use but also entertainment out of the tool. In an interview with Ad Age, Wilson admitted she doesn’t have much experience with AI technology, but that it has an impressive ability to have natural-sounding conversations. She also discussed her thoughts on deepfakes—which particularly threaten well-known figures with followings such as herself—the prospect of AI-powered robot referees and her familiarity with other emerging technologies such as VR.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What was it like shooting a commercial with AI as your costar?

It kind of threw me off a little bit because of how natural the conversation was. I thought a lot of this was going to be just going through the motions, but when I got an actual opportunity to use the technology, I was like, “Oh, this is what they mean by AI.” It kind of shook me for a minute.

What did you talk to the AI about?

I started to quiz it on myself a bit just to see, like, “How much do you know about me? Do you know more about me than I know about me?” And it was good! It messed up a team, but other than that, it was pretty much spot-on.

Gemini Live is really the latest advancement in a subset of AI meant to communicate as humanly as possible. How do you feel about this prospect?

I think I’m in between. It’s kind of scary that we’re getting to the point where we can have a whole natural conversation with technology, but at the same time, I’m excited because I’m thinking about the greater picture. Like, for patients in hospitals, if something goes wrong, the doctors could have a conversation with the technology and it would pick things up like a normal human would.

You mentioned its scariness—one particularly concerning aspect of AI, especially for well-known figures like yourself, is deepfakes. Are you thinking much about this?

I feel like deepfakes were how I got introduced to AI. I was terrified because they can put my voice on anything, they can put my face on anything, and I was like, “How can we stop this?” Putting people in crazy situations and spreading false things is one big scary part of AI. But, honestly, doing this ad helped put this technology in another perspective for me, because it was giving me actually true stuff—it knew things. It just cut that whole false side out.

Do you use much AI in your daily life?

No, I don’t think so. I kind of stay away from it. But then again, I feel like anything could be AI at this point.

What about other emerging technologies? Are you familiar with tools such as VR?

Definitely. I got my dad one of those VR headsets, and he fell in love with it because he can watch sports with it and feel like he’s in the moment. And if I would have thought five years ago whether we would ever have something like that, I wouldn’t have believed it.

Another interesting, human-like development in AI is the ability to use voice to sound like a real person. If you could give an AI bot any voice, whose would you choose?

I would probably have to say Beyoncé. I feel like it would put me in a mind, like, “Oh yeah, I’m talking to Beyoncé, girl.” At the same time, I wouldn’t mind the AI having my voice! Talking with it would be like hearing my own inner thoughts. Or Morgan Freeman, like, come on.

Let’s get real: Basketball fans are always complaining about the referees and their bad calls. Would you ever be in favor of replacing them with AI-powered refs that make fewer mistakes?

One hundred percent. Coming from someone who fusses a lot at the refs and gets hit and fouled a lot, I would love to get robots to really tell the truth. And if it means that I’m in the wrong, then I will say that I’m wrong. I would be more conscious of, like, “OK, A’ja, that wasn’t a foul, keep playing.” So, at some point, I would love that. Sorry to the refs that won’t have a job.

But bad calls are such a part of the game, no?

That’s true. You never want a perfect game. I feel like, sometimes, the imperfections are what make the game great. But at the same time, the refs can think that fans are coming to see them, and I don’t like that.

One more hypothetical: We’ve gotten two Space Jams starring MVPs of the NBA, but none with a WNBA hero. What are your thoughts on a third installment of the franchise, in which you are the star player who is sent into the Looney Tunes universe to play against a gang of AI-powered antagonists?

I feel like I would win—let’s put that out there first. Would it be easy? No, but I feel like that would be the moral of the story. It may not be easy, but you can still get the job done, no matter if you’re stacked against AI players or real players. I feel like that’s a great storyline.